Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) and Capitol Federal Financial (NASDAQ:CFFN) Critical Contrast

Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) 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 institutional ownership, dividends, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation and risk.

Valuation & Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Great Southern Bancorp	$226.53 million	3.05	$61.81 million	$5.87	10.40
Capitol Federal Financial	$189.30 million	4.45	$38.01 million	$0.47	13.49

Great Southern Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Capitol Federal Financial. Great Southern 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.

Dividends

Great Southern Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Capitol Federal Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.34 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.4%. Great Southern Bancorp pays out 29.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Capitol Federal Financial pays out 72.3% 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.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Great Southern Bancorp	19.18%	11.17%	1.15%
Capitol Federal Financial	14.87%	5.92%	0.64%

Analyst Recommendations

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

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Great Southern Bancorp	0	2	0	0	2.00
Capitol Federal Financial	0	1	0	0	2.00

Great Southern Bancorp presently has a consensus price target of $60.50, indicating a potential downside of 0.85%. Capitol Federal Financial has a consensus price target of $6.50, indicating a potential upside of 2.52%. Given Capitol Federal Financial’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Capitol Federal Financial is more favorable than Great Southern Bancorp.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

41.7% of Great Southern Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.5% of Capitol Federal Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 27.9% of Great Southern Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.2% of Capitol Federal Financial shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

Great Southern Bancorp has a beta of 0.57, indicating that its stock price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Capitol Federal Financial has a beta of 0.64, indicating that its stock price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Great Southern Bancorp beats Capitol Federal Financial on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Great Southern Bancorp

Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for Great Southern Bank that provides a range of financial services in the United States. Its deposit products include regular savings accounts, checking accounts, money market accounts, fixed interest rate certificates with varying maturities, certificates of deposit, brokered certificates, and individual retirement accounts. The company's loan portfolio comprises residential and commercial real estate loans, commercial business loans, construction loans, home improvement loans, and unsecured consumer loans, as well as secured consumer loans, such as automobile loans, boat loans, home equity loans, and loans secured by savings deposits. It also provides insurance and merchant banking services. The company was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in Springfield, 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.