Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) versus SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK) Head-To-Head Comparison

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) and SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation and institutional ownership.

Dividends

Eastern Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. SmartFinancial pays an annual dividend of $0.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Eastern Bankshares pays out 34.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. SmartFinancial pays out 9.8% 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. Eastern Bankshares has raised its dividend for 5 consecutive years and SmartFinancial has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years. Eastern Bankshares is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Risk and Volatility

Eastern Bankshares has a beta of 0.7, meaning that its stock price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SmartFinancial has a beta of 0.71, meaning that its stock price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Eastern Bankshares and SmartFinancial”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Eastern Bankshares	$1.19 billion	4.34	$397.61 million	$1.74	12.98
SmartFinancial	$220.61 million	3.76	$36.14 million	$3.68	13.19

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

Profitability

This table compares Eastern Bankshares and SmartFinancial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Eastern Bankshares	N/A	N/A	N/A
SmartFinancial	12.67%	7.33%	0.71%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

71.7% of Eastern Bankshares shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 58.8% of SmartFinancial shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.3% of Eastern Bankshares shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.9% of SmartFinancial shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Eastern Bankshares and SmartFinancial, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Eastern Bankshares	0	3	6	0	2.67
SmartFinancial	0	3	3	0	2.50

Eastern Bankshares currently has a consensus target price of $25.00, indicating a potential upside of 10.72%. SmartFinancial has a consensus target price of $52.60, indicating a potential upside of 8.40%. Given Eastern Bankshares’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Eastern Bankshares is more favorable than SmartFinancial.

Summary

Eastern Bankshares beats SmartFinancial on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Eastern Bankshares

Eastern Bankshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Eastern Bank that provides banking products and services primarily to retail, commercial, and small business customers. The company provides deposit accounts, interest checking accounts, money market accounts, savings accounts, and time certificates of deposit accounts. It also offers commercial and industrial, commercial real estate and construction, small business, residential real estate, and home equity loans; lines of credit; and other consumer loans comprising unsecured personal lines of credit, overdraft protection, automobile loans, home improvement loans, airplane loans, and other personal loans. In addition, the company provides trust, financial planning and portfolio management, automated lock box collection, cash management, and account reconciliation services; personal, business, and employee benefits insurance products. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. was founded in 1818 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.

About SmartFinancial

SmartFinancial, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for SmartBank that provides various financial services to individuals and corporate customers in Tennessee, Alabama, and Florida. It operates through Commercial Real Estate, Consumer Real Estate, Construction and Land Development, Commercial and Industrial, Leases, and Consumer and Other segments. The company offers noninterest-bearing and interest-bearing checking, interest-bearing demand, savings, money market, time deposit, individual retirement accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. It also provides commercial and residential real estate, consumer real estate, and construction and land development loans; commercial and financial loans and leases; commercial business and mortgage loans; and direct consumer installment, educational, agriculture, and other revolving credit loans; equipment financing, heavy equipment, semis, and trailers loans and leases to small and mid-size companies; letters of credit; and overdraft facilities. In addition, the company offers wealth management, insurance, mortgage origination, and internet and mobile banking services. SmartFinancial, Inc. is headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee.