Contrasting South Atlantic Bancshares (OTCMKTS:SABK) & Community Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:CTBI)

Community Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:CTBI) and South Atlantic Bancshares (OTCMKTS:SABK) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and profitability.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Community Trust Bancorp and South Atlantic Bancshares, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Community Trust Bancorp	0	0	3	0	3.00
South Atlantic Bancshares	0	0	0	1	4.00

Community Trust Bancorp currently has a consensus price target of $63.50, indicating a potential downside of 0.33%. Given Community Trust Bancorp’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Community Trust Bancorp is more favorable than South Atlantic Bancshares.

Dividends

Community Trust Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $2.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. South Atlantic Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. Community Trust Bancorp pays out 39.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. South Atlantic Bancshares pays out 4.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Community Trust Bancorp has increased its dividend for 44 consecutive years. Community Trust Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

60.2% of Community Trust Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 13.3% of South Atlantic Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.3% of Community Trust Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Community Trust Bancorp has a beta of 0.58, meaning that its share price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, South Atlantic Bancshares has a beta of 0.11, meaning that its share price is 89% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Community Trust Bancorp and South Atlantic Bancshares”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Community Trust Bancorp	$409.34 million	2.82	$98.06 million	$5.43	11.73
South Atlantic Bancshares	$102.25 million	1.71	$15.81 million	$2.10	11.08

Community Trust Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than South Atlantic Bancshares. South Atlantic Bancshares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Community Trust Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Community Trust Bancorp and South Atlantic Bancshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Community Trust Bancorp	23.95%	12.14%	1.52%
South Atlantic Bancshares	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

Community Trust Bancorp beats South Atlantic Bancshares on 15 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Community Trust Bancorp

Community Trust Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Community Trust Bank, Inc. that engages in the provision of commercial and personal banking, and trust and wealth management services to small and mid-sized communities in eastern, northeastern, central, and south-central Kentucky, as well as southern West Virginia, and northeastern Tennessee. The company accepts time and demand deposits, checking accounts, savings accounts and savings certificates, individual retirement accounts and Keogh plans, and money market accounts. Its loan portfolio includes commercial, construction, mortgage, and personal loans; lease-financing, lines of credit, revolving lines of credit, and term loans, as well as other specialized loans, including asset-based financing; residential and commercial real estate loans; and consumer loans. The company also provides cash management, renting safe deposit boxes, and funds transfer services; issues letters of credit; and acts as a trustee of personal trusts, executor of estates, trustee for employee benefit trusts, and paying agent for bond and stock issues, as well as an investment agent and depositor for securities. In addition, it offers securities brokerage services; debit cards; annuity and life insurance products; and repurchase agreements, as well as mobile, internet banking, and e-statement services. The company was founded in 1903 and is headquartered in Pikeville, Kentucky.

About South Atlantic Bancshares

South Atlantic Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for South Atlantic Bank that provides consumer and commercial banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, and corporations in South Carolina. The company offers checking, money market, and saving accounts, as well as certificate of deposit, individual retirement, and health saving accounts; personal, auto, and recreation loans, as well as home equity and ready reserve overdraft line of credits, and commercial lending products; and credit cards. It also provides cash management and merchant card services; remote deposit capture and automated clearing house services; online, mobile, and telephone banking services; personal and business checks; mortgage products and services; and wealth management services. The company operates offices in Myrtle Beach, Carolina Forest, North Myrtle Beach, Murrells Inlet, Pawleys Island, Georgetown, Mount Pleasant, Charleston, Bluffton, Hilton Head Island, and Beaufort, South Carolina. South Atlantic Bancshares, Inc. was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.