Oak Ridge Financial Services (OTCMKTS:BKOR) versus WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) Financial Comparison

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) and Oak Ridge Financial Services (OTCMKTS:BKOR) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, risk, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Dividends

WaFd pays an annual dividend of $1.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Oak Ridge Financial Services pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. WaFd pays out 39.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Oak Ridge Financial Services pays out 22.5% 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. WaFd has raised its dividend for 13 consecutive years. WaFd is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

83.7% of WaFd shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 4.2% of Oak Ridge Financial Services shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.3% of WaFd shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 25.6% of Oak Ridge Financial Services shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares WaFd and Oak Ridge Financial Services’ revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
WaFd	$1.10 billion	2.46	$257.43 million	$2.63	12.57
Oak Ridge Financial Services	$35.36 million	1.56	$5.74 million	$2.13	9.39

WaFd has higher revenue and earnings than Oak Ridge Financial Services. Oak Ridge Financial Services is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than WaFd, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for WaFd and Oak Ridge Financial Services, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
WaFd	0	2	2	0	2.50
Oak Ridge Financial Services	0	0	0	0	N/A

WaFd presently has a consensus price target of $34.25, indicating a potential upside of 3.63%. Given WaFd’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe WaFd is more favorable than Oak Ridge Financial Services.

Profitability

This table compares WaFd and Oak Ridge Financial Services’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
WaFd	14.13%	9.58%	0.88%
Oak Ridge Financial Services	14.47%	N/A	N/A

Volatility and Risk

WaFd has a beta of 0.83, meaning that its stock price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Oak Ridge Financial Services has a beta of 0.35, meaning that its stock price is 65% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

WaFd beats Oak Ridge Financial Services on 13 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About WaFd

WaFd, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Washington Federal Bank that provides lending, depository, insurance, and other banking services in the United States. The company offers deposit products, including business and personal checking accounts, and term certificates of deposit, as well as money market accounts and passbook savings accounts. It also provides single-family dwellings, construction, land acquisition and development, consumer lot, multi-family residential, commercial real estate, home equity, business, and consumer loans, as well as commercial and industrial loans. In addition, the company offers insurance brokerage services, such as individual and business insurance policies; holds and markets real estate properties; and debit and credit cards, as well as acts as the trustee. It serves consumers, mid-sized and large businesses, and owners and developers of commercial real estate. The company was formerly known as Washington Federal, Inc. and changed its name to WaFd, Inc in September 2023. WaFd, Inc was founded in 1917 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.

About Oak Ridge Financial Services

Oak Ridge Financial Services, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for Bank of Oak Ridge that provides various banking products and services for individuals and businesses. It offers checking, savings, and money market accounts; overdrafts; auto, home equity, mortgage, business term, and business SBA loans; business lines of credit; credit cards; and online and mobile banking products and services. The company also provides health savings accounts, identity theft protection, wealth management, cash management, and remote deposit capture services; and auto, home, small business, renters, life, boat and watercraft, classic car, motorcycle, flood, pet, and umbrella insurance products. It operates through a network of branches in Oak Ridge, Greensboro, and Summerfield, North Carolina. The company was founded in 2000 and is based in Oak Ridge, North Carolina.