Origin Bancorp (NYSE:OBK) & Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (NASDAQ:ZION) Critical Analysis

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (NASDAQ:ZION) and Origin Bancorp (NYSE:OBK) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk and institutional ownership.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Zions Bancorporation, N.A. and Origin Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Zions Bancorporation, N.A.	3	10	6	0	2.16
Origin Bancorp	0	3	5	0	2.62

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. presently has a consensus target price of $71.82, suggesting a potential upside of 14.59%. Origin Bancorp has a consensus target price of $58.00, suggesting a potential upside of 11.89%. Given Zions Bancorporation, N.A.’s higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Zions Bancorporation, N.A. is more favorable than Origin Bancorp.

Volatility and Risk

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. has a beta of 0.84, meaning that its share price is 16% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Origin Bancorp has a beta of 0.74, meaning that its share price is 26% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Zions Bancorporation, N.A. and Origin Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Zions Bancorporation, N.A.	23.92%	13.72%	1.11%
Origin Bancorp	16.26%	7.97%	1.00%

Dividends

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. pays an annual dividend of $1.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Origin Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. Zions Bancorporation, N.A. pays out 24.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Origin Bancorp pays out 31.2% 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. Zions Bancorporation, N.A. has raised its dividend for 12 consecutive years and Origin Bancorp has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years. Zions Bancorporation, N.A. is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Zions Bancorporation, N.A. and Origin Bancorp”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Zions Bancorporation, N.A.	$4.94 billion	1.85	$899.00 million	$7.85	7.98
Origin Bancorp	$420.91 million	3.80	$75.20 million	$3.20	16.20

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

76.8% of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 54.7% of Origin Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.4% of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.3% of Origin Bancorp 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.

Summary

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. beats Origin Bancorp on 13 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Zions Bancorporation, N.A.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association provides various banking products and related services primarily in the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. It operates through Zions Bank, California Bank & Trust, Amegy Bank, National Bank of Arizona, Nevada State Bank, Vectra Bank Colorado, and The Commerce Bank of Washington segments. The company offers commercial and small business banking services to small- and medium-sized businesses, such as commercial, industrial, and owner-occupied lending and leasing; municipal and public finance services; depository account and cash management services; commercial and small business cards; merchant processing services; corporate trust services; and correspondent banking and international lending services. It also provides capital markets and investment banking services, including loan syndications, foreign exchange services, interest rate derivatives, fixed income securities underwriting, advisory and capital raising, commercial mortgage-backed security conduit lending, and power and project financing; and commercial real estate lending services consisting of term and construction/land development financing for commercial and residential purposes. In addition, the company offers retail banking services comprising residential mortgages, home equity lines of credit, personal lines of credit, installment consumer loans, depository account services, consumer cards, and personal trust services; and wealth management services consisting of investment management, fiduciary and estate, and advanced business succession and estate planning services. The company was formerly known as ZB, National Association and changed its name to Zions Bancorporation, National Association in September 2018. Zions Bancorporation, National Association was founded in 1873 and is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.

About Origin Bancorp

Origin Bancorp, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for Origin Bank that provides banking and financial services to small and medium-sized businesses, municipalities, high net worth individuals, and retail clients in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. It offers noninterest and interest-bearing checking accounts, savings deposits, money market accounts, and time deposits; and offers commercial real estate, construction and land development, consumer, residential real estate, commercial and industrial, mortgage warehouse, residential mortgage, and paycheck protection program loans. The company also offers personal and commercial property, and casualty insurance products; and Internet banking and voice response information, mobile applications, cash management, overdraft protection, direct deposit, safe deposit box, U.S. savings bonds, and automatic account transfer services; and treasury management, mortgage origination and servicing facilities, peer-to-peer electronic pay solutions, and personal financial management solutions. As of December 31, 2021, it operated 44 banking centers. The company was founded in 1912 and is headquartered in Ruston, Louisiana.