Head to Head Analysis: Southern Missouri Bancorp (NASDAQ:SMBC) vs. Northfield Bancorp (NASDAQ:NFBK)

Northfield Bancorp (NASDAQ:NFBK) and Southern Missouri Bancorp (NASDAQ:SMBC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, risk and valuation.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Northfield Bancorp and Southern Missouri Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Northfield Bancorp	0	2	0	0	2.00
Southern Missouri Bancorp	0	2	2	0	2.50

Northfield Bancorp currently has a consensus target price of $14.50, suggesting a potential downside of 1.89%. Southern Missouri Bancorp has a consensus target price of $70.67, suggesting a potential downside of 2.31%. Given Northfield Bancorp’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Northfield Bancorp is more favorable than Southern Missouri Bancorp.

Dividends

Northfield Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Southern Missouri Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Northfield Bancorp pays out 433.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Southern Missouri Bancorp pays out 16.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Southern Missouri Bancorp has increased its dividend for 13 consecutive years.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Northfield Bancorp and Southern Missouri Bancorp”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Northfield Bancorp	$266.05 million	2.32	$800,000.00	$0.12	123.17
Southern Missouri Bancorp	$305.35 million	2.61	$58.58 million	$5.99	12.08

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

Volatility and Risk

Northfield Bancorp has a beta of 0.72, suggesting that its stock price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Southern Missouri Bancorp has a beta of 0.88, suggesting that its stock price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Northfield Bancorp and Southern Missouri Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Northfield Bancorp	1.77%	6.75%	0.83%
Southern Missouri Bancorp	21.36%	12.05%	1.33%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

65.5% of Northfield Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 49.5% of Southern Missouri Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.0% of Northfield Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 15.8% of Southern Missouri Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Southern Missouri Bancorp beats Northfield Bancorp on 13 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Northfield Bancorp

Northfield Bancorp, Inc. (Staten Island, NY) operates as the bank holding company for Northfield Bank that provides various banking products and services primarily to individuals and corporate customers. It accepts various deposits products, including certificates of deposit, passbook, statement, and money market savings accounts; transaction deposit accounts comprising negotiable orders of withdrawal accounts, and interest and non-interest-bearing checking accounts; and brokered deposits. The company also offers various loans comprising multifamily and other commercial real estate loans, construction and land loans, commercial and industrial loans, one-to-four family residential real estate loans, and home equity loans and lines of credit. In addition, it purchases various investment securities, such as mortgage-backed securities and corporate bonds; and deposits funds in other financial institutions, as well as holds mortgage loans, mortgage-backed securities, and other investments. Further, the company provides automated teller machines; telephone, internet, and mobile banking services; and ACH and wire transfers, cash management, positive pay, and remote deposit capture services. It operates full-service banking offices in Staten Island and Brooklyn, New York; and Hunterdon, Middlesex, Mercer, and Union counties, New Jersey. Northfield Bancorp, Inc. (Staten Island, NY) was founded in 1887 and is headquartered in Woodbridge, New Jersey.

About Southern Missouri Bancorp

Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Southern Bank that provides banking and financial services to individuals and corporate customers in the United States. The company offers deposits products, including interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing transaction accounts, saving accounts, certificates of deposit, retirement savings plans, and money market deposit accounts. It also provides loans, such as residential mortgage, commercial real estate, construction, and commercial business loans; and consumer loans comprising home equity, direct and indirect automobile loans, second mortgages, mobile home loans, and loans secured by deposits. In addition, the company offers fiduciary and investment management services; commercial and consumer insurance; online and mobile banking services; and debit or credit cards. The company was founded in 1887 and is headquartered in Poplar Bluff, Missouri.