Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) versus Touchstone Bankshares (OTCMKTS:TSBA) Critical Comparison

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) and Touchstone Bankshares (OTCMKTS:TSBA) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, risk, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Dividends

Lakeland Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Touchstone Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $0.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Lakeland Financial pays out 49.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Touchstone Bankshares pays out 49.2% 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. Lakeland Financial has increased its dividend for 13 consecutive years. Lakeland Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

This table compares Lakeland Financial and Touchstone Bankshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lakeland Financial	22.85%	13.64%	1.37%
Touchstone Bankshares	N/A	N/A	N/A

Institutional and Insider Ownership

81.2% of Lakeland Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.4% of Touchstone Bankshares shares are held by institutional investors. 3.3% of Lakeland Financial shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 10.4% of Touchstone Bankshares shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Lakeland Financial and Touchstone Bankshares”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lakeland Financial	$255.76 million	6.87	$93.77 million	$3.85	17.89
Touchstone Bankshares	N/A	N/A	$1.61 million	$0.65	21.92

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Lakeland Financial and Touchstone Bankshares, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lakeland Financial	0	2	1	0	2.33
Touchstone Bankshares	0	0	0	0	0.00

Lakeland Financial currently has a consensus target price of $71.00, suggesting a potential upside of 3.08%. Given Lakeland Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Lakeland Financial is more favorable than Touchstone Bankshares.

Risk & Volatility

Lakeland Financial has a beta of 0.67, meaning that its share price is 33% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Touchstone Bankshares has a beta of 0.61, meaning that its share price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Lakeland Financial beats Touchstone Bankshares on 13 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Lakeland Financial

Lakeland Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Lake City Bank that provides various banking products and services in the United States. The company accepts various deposit products, such as noninterest bearing, interest-bearing checking, savings, money market, NOW, and demand deposits. Its loan products include commercial and industrial, commercial real estate and multi-family residential, construction, agri-business and agricultural, consumer 1-4 family mortgage, and other commercial and consumer loans. The company also provides retail and merchant credit card services; corporate treasury management, wealth advisory, and trust services; retail brokerage services, including various financial and investment products, such as annuities and life insurance; and mobile business banking and on-line treasury management services. It serves commercial real estate, manufacturing, agriculture, construction, retail, wholesale, finance and insurance, accommodation and food services, and health care industries. The company was founded in 1872 and is headquartered in Warsaw, Indiana.

About Touchstone Bankshares

Touchstone Bankshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Touchstone Bank that provides various community banking products and services in the United States. The company offers personal and business savings and checking accounts. It also provides home mortgage, professional mortgage, home equity, auto, and personal term loans; personal lines of credit; and business loans comprising commercial real estate, operating capital, business term, and construction loans, as well as business lines of credit. In addition, the company offers credit and debit cards; and digital banking, treasury, wealth management, and financial planning services. It has branches in northern North Carolina and south-central Virginia. The company was founded in 1906 and is headquartered in Prince George, Virginia.