Analyzing Columbia Financial (NASDAQ:CLBK) and CNB Financial (NASDAQ:CCNE)

CNB Financial (NASDAQ:CCNE) and Columbia Financial (NASDAQ:CLBK) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, risk, earnings and profitability.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

52.3% of CNB Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 12.7% of Columbia Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.9% of CNB Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.5% of Columbia Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

CNB Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Columbia Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. CNB Financial pays out 20.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Columbia Financial pays out 69.0% 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. CNB Financial has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years. CNB Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for CNB Financial and Columbia Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
CNB Financial	0	2	4	0	2.67
Columbia Financial	0	1	3	0	2.75

CNB Financial presently has a consensus target price of $37.20, indicating a potential upside of 3.97%. Columbia Financial has a consensus target price of $15.10, indicating a potential upside of 35.91%. Given Columbia Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Columbia Financial is more favorable than CNB Financial.

Profitability

This table compares CNB Financial and Columbia Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
CNB Financial	23.26%	13.23%	1.30%
Columbia Financial	8.54%	7.35%	0.76%

Volatility and Risk

CNB Financial has a beta of 0.61, meaning that its share price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Columbia Financial has a beta of 0.27, meaning that its share price is 73% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares CNB Financial and Columbia Financial”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
CNB Financial	$432.51 million	2.45	$66.13 million	$3.80	9.42
Columbia Financial	$508.02 million	5.89	$51.77 million	$0.29	38.31

CNB Financial has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Columbia Financial. CNB Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Columbia Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

CNB Financial beats Columbia Financial on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About CNB Financial

CNB Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for CNB Bank that provides a range of banking products and services for individual, business, governmental, and institutional customers. The company accepts checking, savings, and time deposit accounts; and offers real estate, commercial, industrial, residential, and consumer loans, as well as various other specialized financial services. It also provides private banking; and wealth and asset management services, including the administration of trusts and estates, retirement plans, and other employee benefit plans, as well as a range of wealth management services. In addition, the company invests in debt and equity securities; sells nonproprietary annuities and other insurance products; and offers small balance unsecured loans and secured loans primarily collateralized by automobiles and equipment, as well as engages in consumer discount loan and finance business. The company was founded in 1865 and is headquartered in Clearfield, Pennsylvania.

About Columbia Financial

Columbia Financial, Inc., a bank holding company, provides various financial services to businesses and consumers in the United States. Its deposit products include checking, interest-earning checking products and municipal, savings and club deposits, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company also provides various loans, including multifamily and commercial real estate loans, commercial business loans, one-to-four family residential loans, construction loans, home equity loans and advances, and other consumer loans, such as automobiles and personal loans, as well as unsecured and overdraft lines of credit. In addition, it offers title insurance products; wealth management services; and cash management services comprising remote deposit, lockbox service, sweep accounts, and escrow services. The company operates full-service banking offices in New Jersey; and branch offices in Freehold, New Jersey. Columbia Financial, Inc. was founded in 1926 and is based in Fair Lawn, New Jersey. Columbia Financial, Inc. is a subsidiary of Columbia Bank MHC.