Head-To-Head Contrast: First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) versus Oak Ridge Financial Services (OTCMKTS:BKOR)

Oak Ridge Financial Services (OTCMKTS:BKOR) and First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Oak Ridge Financial Services and First Horizon’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Oak Ridge Financial Services	13.99%	N/A	N/A
First Horizon	15.38%	10.10%	1.07%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

4.2% of Oak Ridge Financial Services shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 80.3% of First Horizon shares are owned by institutional investors. 25.6% of Oak Ridge Financial Services shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.9% of First Horizon shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Oak Ridge Financial Services and First Horizon”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Oak Ridge Financial Services	$35.36 million	1.64	$5.74 million	$2.04	10.27
First Horizon	$5.03 billion	2.27	$775.00 million	$1.36	15.86

First Horizon has higher revenue and earnings than Oak Ridge Financial Services. Oak Ridge Financial Services is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than First Horizon, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk and Volatility

Oak Ridge Financial Services has a beta of 0.36, suggesting that its share price is 64% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Horizon has a beta of 0.92, suggesting that its share price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Oak Ridge Financial Services pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. First Horizon pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Oak Ridge Financial Services pays out 23.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Horizon pays out 44.1% 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.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Oak Ridge Financial Services and First Horizon, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Oak Ridge Financial Services	0	0	0	0	0.00
First Horizon	0	6	8	0	2.57

First Horizon has a consensus target price of $22.04, suggesting a potential upside of 2.14%. Given First Horizon’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe First Horizon is more favorable than Oak Ridge Financial Services.

Summary

First Horizon beats Oak Ridge Financial Services on 13 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Oak Ridge Financial Services

Oak Ridge Financial Services, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for Bank of Oak Ridge that provides various banking products and services for individuals and businesses. It offers checking, savings, and money market accounts; overdrafts; auto, home equity, mortgage, business term, and business SBA loans; business lines of credit; credit cards; and online and mobile banking products and services. The company also provides health savings accounts, identity theft protection, wealth management, cash management, and remote deposit capture services; and auto, home, small business, renters, life, boat and watercraft, classic car, motorcycle, flood, pet, and umbrella insurance products. It operates through a network of branches in Oak Ridge, Greensboro, and Summerfield, North Carolina. The company was founded in 2000 and is based in Oak Ridge, North Carolina.

About First Horizon

First Horizon Corporation operates as the bank holding company for First Horizon Bank that provides various financial services. The company operates through Regional Banking and Specialty Banking segments. It offers general banking services for consumers, businesses, financial institutions, and governments. The company also accepts deposits; provides underwriting services for bank-eligible securities and other fixed-income securities by financial subsidiaries; sells loans and derivatives; financial planning; and offers investment and financial advisory services. In addition, it offers mortgage banking; loan syndications; brokerage services; commercial and business banking for business enterprises, consumer banking, and private client and wealth management services; capital markets, professional commercial real estate, mortgage warehouse and asset-based lending, franchise and equipment finance, tax credit finance, energy and healthcare finance, asset management, and corporate and correspondent banking services. Further, the company provides transaction processing services including check clearing services and remittance processing, credit cards, investment, and sale of mutual fund and retail insurances, as well as trust, fiduciary, and agency services. First Horizon Corporation was founded in 1864 and is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee.