Comparing Auburn National Bancorporation (NASDAQ:AUBN) and Capital City Bank Group (NASDAQ:CCBG)

Auburn National Bancorporation (NASDAQ:AUBN) and Capital City Bank Group (NASDAQ:CCBG) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, institutional ownership, profitability and dividends.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Auburn National Bancorporation and Capital City Bank Group, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Auburn National Bancorporation	0	1	0	0	2.00
Capital City Bank Group	0	3	1	0	2.25

Capital City Bank Group has a consensus target price of $49.75, suggesting a potential upside of 9.41%. Given Capital City Bank Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Capital City Bank Group is more favorable than Auburn National Bancorporation.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Auburn National Bancorporation and Capital City Bank Group”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Auburn National Bancorporation	$43.89 million	1.94	$7.26 million	$2.08	11.72
Capital City Bank Group	$286.74 million	2.72	$61.56 million	$3.53	12.88

Capital City Bank Group has higher revenue and earnings than Auburn National Bancorporation. Auburn National Bancorporation is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Capital City Bank Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Auburn National Bancorporation pays an annual dividend of $1.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.4%. Capital City Bank Group pays an annual dividend of $1.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Auburn National Bancorporation pays out 51.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Capital City Bank Group pays out 30.6% 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. Capital City Bank Group has increased its dividend for 11 consecutive years.

Volatility and Risk

Auburn National Bancorporation has a beta of 0.41, indicating that its stock price is 59% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Capital City Bank Group has a beta of 0.3, indicating that its stock price is 70% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Auburn National Bancorporation and Capital City Bank Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Auburn National Bancorporation	16.53%	8.27%	0.72%
Capital City Bank Group	21.01%	11.21%	1.39%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

39.5% of Auburn National Bancorporation shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 44.6% of Capital City Bank Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 18.7% of Auburn National Bancorporation shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 19.8% of Capital City Bank Group shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Capital City Bank Group beats Auburn National Bancorporation on 15 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Auburn National Bancorporation

Auburn National Bancorporation, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for AuburnBank that provides various banking products and services in East Alabama. The company offers checking, savings, and transaction deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. It also provides commercial, financial, agricultural, real estate construction, and consumer loan products; and other financial services. In addition, the company offers automated teller services; debit cards; online banking, bill payment, and other electronic banking services; and safe deposit boxes. Auburn National Bancorporation, Inc. was founded in 1907 and is headquartered in Auburn, Alabama.

About Capital City Bank Group

Capital City Bank Group, Inc. operates as the financial holding company for Capital City Bank that provides a range of banking- related services to individual and corporate clients. The company offers financing for commercial business properties, equipment, inventories, and accounts receivable, as well as commercial leasing and letters of credit; treasury management services; and merchant credit card transaction processing services. It also provides commercial and residential real estate lending products, as well as fixed and adjustable-rate residential mortgage loans; personal, automobile, boat/RV, and home equity loans; and credit card programs. In addition, the company offers institutional banking services, including customized checking and savings accounts, cash management systems, tax-exempt loans, lines of credit, and term loans to meet the needs of state and local governments, public schools and colleges, charities, membership, and not-for-profit associations. Further, it provides consumer banking services comprising checking accounts, savings programs, interactive/automated teller machines, debit/credit cards, night deposit services, safe deposit facilities, and online and mobile banking services. Additionally, the company provides asset management for individuals through agency, personal trust, IRA, and personal investment management accounts; and various retail securities products, such as the U.S. government bonds, tax-free municipal bonds, stocks, mutual funds, unit investment trusts, annuities, life insurance, and long-term health care, as well as business, estate, financial, insurance and business planning, tax planning, and asset protection advisory services. Capital City Bank Group, Inc. was founded in 1895 and is headquartered in Tallahassee, Florida.