Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) & Security Bancorp (OTCMKTS:SCYT) Head to Head Survey

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) and Security Bancorp (OTCMKTS:SCYT) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, earnings, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Dividends

Banner pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Security Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Banner pays out 35.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Security Bancorp pays out 7.0% 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.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Banner and Security Bancorp”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Banner	$877.77 million	2.49	$195.38 million	$5.64	11.45
Security Bancorp	$24.35 million	1.51	$5.49 million	$14.33	6.77

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

87.3% of Banner shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.7% of Banner shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Banner and Security Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Banner	22.26%	10.46%	1.21%
Security Bancorp	22.55%	N/A	N/A

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Banner and Security Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Banner	0	3	4	0	2.57
Security Bancorp	0	0	0	0	0.00

Banner presently has a consensus price target of $70.00, indicating a potential upside of 8.39%. Given Banner’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Banner is more favorable than Security Bancorp.

Volatility & Risk

Banner has a beta of 0.85, suggesting that its share price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Security Bancorp has a beta of 0.05, suggesting that its share price is 95% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Banner beats Security Bancorp on 13 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Banner

Banner Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Banner Bank that engages in the provision of commercial banking and financial products and services to individuals, businesses, and public sector entities in the United States. It accepts various deposit instruments, including interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing checking accounts, money market deposit accounts, regular savings accounts, and certificates of deposit, as well as treasury management services and retirement savings plans. The company also provides commercial real estate loans, including owner-occupied, investment properties, and multifamily residential real estate loans; construction, land, and land development loans; one- to four-family residential real estate lending; commercial business loans; agricultural loans; consumer and other loans, such as home equity lines of credit, automobile, and boat and recreational vehicle loans, as well as loans secured by deposit accounts; and small business administration loans. In addition, it provides electronic and digital banking services comprising debit cards and ATMs, internet banking, remote deposit, and mobile banking services. The company was founded in 1890 and is based in Walla Walla, Washington.

About Security Bancorp

Security Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Security Federal Savings Bank that provides banking products and services to individual and corporate customers in Tennessee. The company's deposit products include checking and savings accounts, and certificates of deposit. It also offers consumer loans; mortgage loans; and commercial loans, including installment loans, lines of credit, and real estate lending. In addition, the company provides financial services, as well as online, mobile, and telephone banking services. Security Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1960 and is headquartered in McMinnville, Tennessee.