Head-To-Head Survey: Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) vs. BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF)

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) and BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership and risk.

Dividends

Huntington Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.62 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. BancFirst pays an annual dividend of $2.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. Huntington Bancshares pays out 51.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. BancFirst pays out 27.6% 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. BancFirst has raised its dividend for 31 consecutive years.

Volatility and Risk

Huntington Bancshares has a beta of 0.95, meaning that its stock price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BancFirst has a beta of 0.65, meaning that its stock price is 35% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Huntington Bancshares and BancFirst”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Huntington Bancshares	$10.34 billion	3.12	$2.21 billion	$1.21	13.20
BancFirst	$734.87 million	5.10	$240.61 million	$7.53	14.80

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Huntington Bancshares and BancFirst, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Huntington Bancshares	2	7	13	1	2.57
BancFirst	0	3	1	0	2.25

Huntington Bancshares currently has a consensus target price of $18.95, suggesting a potential upside of 18.69%. BancFirst has a consensus target price of $123.00, suggesting a potential upside of 10.37%. Given Huntington Bancshares’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Huntington Bancshares is more favorable than BancFirst.

Profitability

This table compares Huntington Bancshares and BancFirst’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Huntington Bancshares	16.28%	10.93%	1.12%
BancFirst	32.44%	13.47%	1.71%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

80.7% of Huntington Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 51.7% of BancFirst shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.7% of Huntington Bancshares shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 31.7% of BancFirst shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

About Huntington Bancshares

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated operates as the bank holding company for The Huntington National Bank that provides commercial, consumer, and mortgage banking services in the United States. The company offers financial products and services to consumer and business customers, including deposits, lending, payments, mortgage banking, dealer financing, investment management, trust, brokerage, insurance, and other financial products and services. It also provides 24-hour grace, asterisk-free checking, money scout, $50 safety zone, standby cash, early pay, instant access, savings goal getter, and Huntington heads up; digitally powered consumer and business financial solutions to consumer lending, regional banking, branch banking, and wealth management customers; direct and indirect consumer loans, as well as dealer finance loans and deposits; and private banking, wealth management and legacy planning through investment and portfolio management, fiduciary administration and trust, institutional custody, and full-service retail brokerage investment services. The company offers equipment financing, asset-based lending, distribution finance, structured lending, and municipal financing solutions, as well as Huntington ChoicePay. In addition, it offers lending, liquidity, treasury management and other payment services, and capital markets; government and non-profits, healthcare, technology and telecommunications, franchises, financial sponsors, and global services; and corporate risk management, institutional sales and trading, debt and equity issuance, and additional advisory services. The company offers its products through a network of channels, including branches and ATMs, online and mobile banking, and through customer call centers to customers in middle market banking, corporate, specialty, and government banking, asset finance, commercial real estate banking, and capital markets. The company was founded in 1866 and is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio.

About BancFirst

BancFirst Corporation operates as the bank holding company for BancFirst that provides a range of commercial banking services to retail customers, and small to medium-sized businesses. The company operates through BancFirst Metropolitan Banks, BancFirst Community Banks, Pegasus, Worthington, and Other Financial Services segments. It offers checking accounts, negotiable order of withdrawal accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, sweep accounts, club accounts, individual retirement accounts, and certificates of deposit, as well as overdraft protection and auto draft services. The company also provides commercial and agricultural non-real estate loans for working capital, facilities acquisition or expansion, purchase of equipment, and other needs; lending services that include private banking, energy, commercial and residential real estate, and commercial and industrial loans; and loans to finance purchases of consumer goods, such as automobiles, boats, household goods, vacations, and education. In addition, it engages in the investment management and administration of trusts for individuals, corporations, and employee benefit plans, as well as bond trustee and paying agent business for various Oklahoma municipalities and governmental entities; and provision of item processing, research, and other correspondent banking services to financial institutions and governmental units. Further, the company provides insurance agency services; depository and funds transfer, collection, safe deposit box, cash management, and other services. It serves customers in non-metropolitan trade centers and cities in the metropolitan statistical areas of Oklahoma. The company was formerly known as United Community Corporation and changed its name to BancFirst Corporation in November 1988. BancFirst Corporation was incorporated in 1984 and is headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.