Analyzing Central Plains Bancshares (NASDAQ:CPBI) & Live Oak Bancshares (NYSE:LOB)

Live Oak Bancshares (NYSE:LOB) and Central Plains Bancshares (NASDAQ:CPBI) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, profitability, valuation, dividends, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Live Oak Bancshares and Central Plains Bancshares”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Live Oak Bancshares	$1.04 billion	1.58	$105.87 million	$2.84	12.47
Central Plains Bancshares	$30.33 million	2.78	$4.00 million	$1.18	17.16

Live Oak Bancshares has higher revenue and earnings than Central Plains Bancshares. Live Oak Bancshares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Central Plains Bancshares, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

Live Oak Bancshares has a beta of 1.94, suggesting that its share price is 94% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Central Plains Bancshares has a beta of 0.22, suggesting that its share price is 78% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Live Oak Bancshares and Central Plains Bancshares, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Live Oak Bancshares	0	4	2	0	2.33
Central Plains Bancshares	0	1	0	0	2.00

Live Oak Bancshares presently has a consensus price target of $42.50, indicating a potential upside of 19.98%. Given Live Oak Bancshares’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Live Oak Bancshares is more favorable than Central Plains Bancshares.

Profitability

This table compares Live Oak Bancshares and Central Plains Bancshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Live Oak Bancshares	12.68%	11.77%	0.90%
Central Plains Bancshares	14.33%	5.14%	0.83%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

64.0% of Live Oak Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 24.3% of Central Plains Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. 22.4% of Live Oak Bancshares shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 8.6% of Central Plains Bancshares shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Live Oak Bancshares beats Central Plains Bancshares on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Live Oak Bancshares

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 Central Plains Bancshares

Central Plains Bancshares, Inc. focuses on providing various banking products and services to retail customers, and small and medium-sized commercial customers in Nebraska, the United States. It offers checking accounts, savings accounts, and certificate of deposit accounts. The company also provides one- to four-family residential mortgage loans secured by properties, as well as commercial real estate loans, commercial and industrial loans, multi-family residential real estate loans, construction and land development loans, agricultural real estate and non-real estate loans, and consumer loans. In addition, it offers electronic banking services, including mobile banking, on-line banking and bill pay, and electronic funds transfer. The company was incorporated in 2023 and is based in Grand Island, Nebraska.