Financial Review: Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) vs. Stock Yards Bancorp (NASDAQ:SYBT)

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) and Stock Yards Bancorp (NASDAQ:SYBT) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, risk, institutional ownership and earnings.

Risk & Volatility

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida has a beta of 0.88, indicating that its share price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Stock Yards Bancorp has a beta of 0.7, indicating that its share price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida and Stock Yards Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida	14.42%	8.23%	1.11%
Stock Yards Bancorp	25.06%	13.78%	1.53%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida and Stock Yards Bancorp”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida	$935.52 million	3.27	$144.88 million	$1.52	20.60
Stock Yards Bancorp	$564.54 million	3.76	$140.15 million	$4.86	14.79

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida has higher revenue and earnings than Stock Yards Bancorp. Stock Yards Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

81.8% of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 56.5% of Stock Yards Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 1.5% of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.9% of Stock Yards Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida pays an annual dividend of $0.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Stock Yards Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida pays out 50.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Stock Yards Bancorp pays out 26.3% 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. Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years and Stock Yards Bancorp has raised its dividend for 15 consecutive years.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida and Stock Yards Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida	0	3	3	0	2.50
Stock Yards Bancorp	0	4	2	0	2.33

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida currently has a consensus price target of $33.13, indicating a potential upside of 5.80%. Stock Yards Bancorp has a consensus price target of $76.00, indicating a potential upside of 5.76%. Given Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida is more favorable than Stock Yards Bancorp.

Summary

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida beats Stock Yards Bancorp on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida

Seacoast Banking Corp. of Florida is a financial holding company, which engages in the provision of integrated financial services. It provides banking and investment services to businesses and consumers, including personal and business deposit products, Internet and mobile banking, personal, commercial and mortgage loans, wealth management services, and treasury management solutions. The company was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Stuart, FL.

About Stock Yards Bancorp

Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc. operates as a holding company for Stock Yards Bank & Trust Company that provides various financial services for individuals, corporations, and others in the United States. It operates in two segments, Commercial Banking, and WM&T. The Commercial Banking segment offers a range of loan and deposit products to individual consumers and businesses in all its markets through retail lending, mortgage banking, deposit services, online banking, mobile banking, private banking, commercial lending, commercial real estate lending, leasing, treasury management services, merchant services, international banking, correspondent banking, and other banking services. This segment also provides securities brokerage services through an arrangement with a third party broker-dealer. The WM&T segment provides investment management, financial and retirement planning, and trust and estate services, as well as retirement plan management for businesses and corporations. It provides services in Louisville, central, eastern, and northern Kentucky, as well as Indianapolis, Indiana and Cincinnati, Ohio metropolitan markets. The company was founded in 1904 and is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky.