Live Oak Bancshares (NYSE:LOB – Get Free Report) and Bar Harbor Bankshares (NYSE:BHB – Get Free Report) are both small-cap financial services companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, valuation, profitability, dividends and earnings.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Live Oak Bancshares and Bar Harbor Bankshares, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
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Bar Harbor Bankshares has a consensus price target of $35.00, indicating a potential upside of 8.06%. Given Bar Harbor Bankshares’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Bar Harbor Bankshares is more favorable than Live Oak Bancshares.
Risk and Volatility
Live Oak Bancshares has a beta of 1.75, meaning that its share price is 75% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bar Harbor Bankshares has a beta of 0.71, meaning that its share price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Live Oak Bancshares and Bar Harbor Bankshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Live Oak Bancshares and Bar Harbor Bankshares”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
Live Oak Bancshares has higher revenue and earnings than Bar Harbor Bankshares. Bar Harbor Bankshares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Live Oak Bancshares, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
64.0% of Live Oak Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 54.5% of Bar Harbor Bankshares shares are held by institutional investors. 23.4% of Live Oak Bancshares shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.6% of Bar Harbor Bankshares shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Dividends
Live Oak Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.3%. Bar Harbor Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $1.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. Live Oak Bancshares pays out 9.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Bar Harbor Bankshares pays out 49.6% 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. Bar Harbor Bankshares has increased its dividend for 22 consecutive years. Bar Harbor Bankshares is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Summary
Live Oak Bancshares beats Bar Harbor Bankshares on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Live Oak Bancshares
(Get Free Report)
Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Live Oak Banking Company that provides various commercial banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, and professionals in North Carolina, the United States. The company accepts various deposit products, including noninterest-bearing demand, as well as interest-bearing checking, money market, savings, and time deposits. It also offers commercial and industrial loans; construction and development loans; owner occupied and non-owner occupied collateral commercial real estate loans; and commercial land loans. In addition, the company provides settlement, accounting, and securitization services for government guaranteed loans; wealth and investment management services to high-net-worth individuals and families; investment advisory services to a series of funds focused on providing venture capital to new and emerging financial technology companies; and an on-site restaurant location to company employees and business visitors. Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. was incorporated in 2008 and is headquartered in Wilmington, North Carolina.
About Bar Harbor Bankshares
(Get Free Report)
Bar Harbor Bankshares operates as the holding company for Bar Harbor Bank & Trust that provides commercial, lending, retail, and wealth management banking services. It accepts various deposit products, including interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing demand accounts, savings accounts, time deposits, and money market deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company also provides commercial real estate loans, such as multi-family, commercial construction and land development, and other commercial real estate classes; commercial and industrial loans, including loans to commercial and agricultural businesses, and tax exempt entities; residential real estate loans consists of mortgages for 1-4 family housing; and consumer loans comprises home equity loans, lines of credit, auto, and other installment lending. In addition, it provides life insurance, annuity, and retirement products, as well as financial planning services; and third-party investment and insurance services. Further, the company offers trust and estate administration, wealth advisory, and investment management services to individuals, businesses, not-for-profit organizations, and municipalities; and 401K plan, financial, estate and charitable planning, investment management, family office, municipal, and tax services. It operates 53 locations across Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The company was founded in 1887 and is based in Bar Harbor, Maine.