Critical Analysis: CoastalSouth Bancshares (NYSE:COSO) versus First National of Nebraska (OTCMKTS:FINN)

CoastalSouth Bancshares (NYSE:COSO) and First National of Nebraska (OTCMKTS:FINN) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, risk, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for CoastalSouth Bancshares and First National of Nebraska, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
CoastalSouth Bancshares	0	1	2	0	2.67
First National of Nebraska	0	0	0	0	0.00

CoastalSouth Bancshares presently has a consensus target price of $30.00, indicating a potential upside of 10.68%. Given CoastalSouth Bancshares’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe CoastalSouth Bancshares is more favorable than First National of Nebraska.

Profitability

This table compares CoastalSouth Bancshares and First National of Nebraska’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
CoastalSouth Bancshares	19.59%	10.69%	1.20%
First National of Nebraska	N/A	N/A	N/A

Dividends

CoastalSouth Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. First National of Nebraska pays an annual dividend of $160.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. CoastalSouth Bancshares pays out 9.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

0.7% of First National of Nebraska shares are owned by institutional investors. 15.1% of CoastalSouth Bancshares shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 41.7% of First National of Nebraska shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares CoastalSouth Bancshares and First National of Nebraska”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
CoastalSouth Bancshares	$135.78 million	2.40	$24.89 million	$2.22	12.21
First National of Nebraska	$3.35 billion	1.51	$532.96 million	N/A	N/A

First National of Nebraska has higher revenue and earnings than CoastalSouth Bancshares.

Summary

CoastalSouth Bancshares beats First National of Nebraska on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About CoastalSouth Bancshares

CoastalSouth Bancshares, Inc. is a bank holding company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Through our wholly owned subsidiary, Coastal States Bank, a South Carolina state-chartered commercial bank, we offer a full range of banking products and services designed for businesses, real estate professionals, and consumers looking for a deep and meaningful relationship with their bank. Today, we have a community banking presence in some of the fastest growing and most business-friendly markets in the U.S., namely the Lowcountry of South Carolina (Hilton Head Island, Bluffton, and Beaufort), nearby Savannah, Georgia, and the Atlanta, Georgia market. — In addition to our traditional community banking operations, we operate four specialty lines of business that provide scalability and diversification: • Senior Housing Lending – focuses on lending to operators across the spectrum of senior care, with an emphasis on assisted living; • Marine Lending – focuses on consumer loans primarily to high-net-worth borrowers secured by yachts and high-end sport fishing vessels; • Government Guaranteed Lending – focuses on origination of small business and other loans guaranteed by the SBA and USDA; and • Mortgage Banker Finance – focuses on mortgage warehouse lending to mortgage originators. By combining the relationship-based focus of a community bank with our specialty lines of business, we believe we can capitalize on the substantial growth opportunities available in our markets, particularly given the scarcity of community banks between $1.5 billion and $5.0 billion in total assets. Our principal executive offices are located in Atlanta, Georgia.

About First National of Nebraska

First National of Nebraska, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for First National Bank of Omaha that provides various banking products and services. The company offers checking, savings, and individual retirement accounts; certificates of deposit; and credit cards. It also provides personal loans and lines of credit; auto loans; mortgage loans; home equity lines of credit and loans; small business loans and lines of credit; small business administration loans; and commercial lending solutions. In addition, the company offers treasury management, debt consolidation, financial planning, retirement planning, wealth management, merchant, and payroll services; and personal, commercial, and farm insurance products. Further, it provides solutions for agribusiness, commercial real estate, healthcare, transportation, and correspondent banking; investment services, such as capital market and institutional asset management; and digital banking services. First National of Nebraska, Inc. was founded in 1857 and is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska.