Contrasting Southern Missouri Bancorp (NASDAQ:SMBC) and Capitol Federal Financial (NASDAQ:CFFN)

Southern Missouri Bancorp (NASDAQ:SMBC) and Capitol Federal Financial (NASDAQ:CFFN) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, profitability and valuation.

Dividends

Southern Missouri Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Capitol Federal Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.34 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.2%. Southern Missouri Bancorp pays out 16.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Capitol Federal Financial pays out 56.7% 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. Southern Missouri Bancorp has increased its dividend for 13 consecutive years.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Southern Missouri Bancorp and Capitol Federal Financial”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Southern Missouri Bancorp	$305.35 million	2.62	$58.58 million	$5.99	12.11
Capitol Federal Financial	$420.24 million	2.44	$68.03 million	$0.60	13.47

Capitol Federal Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Southern Missouri Bancorp. Southern Missouri Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Capitol Federal Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Southern Missouri Bancorp and Capitol Federal Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Southern Missouri Bancorp	0	2	2	0	2.50
Capitol Federal Financial	0	3	1	0	2.25

Southern Missouri Bancorp currently has a consensus price target of $70.67, indicating a potential downside of 2.54%. Capitol Federal Financial has a consensus price target of $8.00, indicating a potential downside of 0.99%. Given Capitol Federal Financial’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Capitol Federal Financial is more favorable than Southern Missouri Bancorp.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

49.5% of Southern Missouri Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.5% of Capitol Federal Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 15.8% of Southern Missouri Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.8% of Capitol Federal Financial shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

Southern Missouri Bancorp has a beta of 0.88, suggesting that its share price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Capitol Federal Financial has a beta of 0.69, suggesting that its share price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Southern Missouri Bancorp and Capitol Federal Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Southern Missouri Bancorp	21.36%	12.05%	1.33%
Capitol Federal Financial	17.80%	7.46%	0.79%

Summary

Southern Missouri Bancorp beats Capitol Federal Financial on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Southern Missouri Bancorp

Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Southern Bank that provides banking and financial services to individuals and corporate customers in the United States. The company offers deposits products, including interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing transaction accounts, saving accounts, certificates of deposit, retirement savings plans, and money market deposit accounts. It also provides loans, such as residential mortgage, commercial real estate, construction, and commercial business loans; and consumer loans comprising home equity, direct and indirect automobile loans, second mortgages, mobile home loans, and loans secured by deposits. In addition, the company offers fiduciary and investment management services; commercial and consumer insurance; online and mobile banking services; and debit or credit cards. The company was founded in 1887 and is headquartered in Poplar Bluff, Missouri.

About Capitol Federal Financial

Capitol Federal Financial, Inc. operates as the holding company for Capitol Federal Savings Bank that provides various retail banking products and services in the United States. The company accepts a range of deposit products, including savings accounts, money market accounts, interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing checking accounts, and certificates of deposit. It also provides various loan products, such as one- to four-family residential real estate loans, commercial real estate, commercial and industrial, construction loans, and small business loans, as well as consumer loans, which include home equity loans and lines of credit, home improvement loans, vehicle loans, and loans secured by savings deposits. In addition, the company offers mobile, telephone, and online banking services, as well as bill payment services; credit cards; mortgage loan; operates a call center; and invests in various securities. The company serves the metropolitan areas of Topeka, Wichita, Lawrence, Manhattan, Emporia, and Salina, Kansas, and a portion of the metropolitan area of greater Kansas City. Capitol Federal Financial, Inc. was founded in 1893 and is headquartered in Topeka, Kansas.