Head to Head Comparison: Renasant (NASDAQ:RNST) & Benchmark Bankshares (OTCMKTS:BMBN)

Benchmark Bankshares (OTCMKTS:BMBN) and Renasant (NASDAQ:RNST) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, risk, profitability and dividends.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Benchmark Bankshares and Renasant”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Benchmark Bankshares	$73.53 million	1.59	$15.85 million	N/A	N/A
Renasant	$668.43 million	3.13	$195.46 million	$3.22	10.22

Renasant has higher revenue and earnings than Benchmark Bankshares.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for Benchmark Bankshares and Renasant, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Benchmark Bankshares	0	0	0	0	0.00
Renasant	0	2	3	1	2.83

Renasant has a consensus price target of $41.00, indicating a potential upside of 24.56%. Given Renasant’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Renasant is more favorable than Benchmark Bankshares.

Risk and Volatility

Benchmark Bankshares has a beta of 0.11, suggesting that its stock price is 89% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Renasant has a beta of 0.86, suggesting that its stock price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Benchmark Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $0.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Renasant pays an annual dividend of $0.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Renasant pays out 27.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Profitability

This table compares Benchmark Bankshares and Renasant’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Benchmark Bankshares	N/A	N/A	N/A
Renasant	17.91%	6.58%	0.93%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

3.2% of Benchmark Bankshares shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 77.3% of Renasant shares are held by institutional investors. 14.0% of Benchmark Bankshares shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.8% of Renasant shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Renasant beats Benchmark Bankshares on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Benchmark Bankshares

Benchmark Bankshares, Inc. operates as the holding company for Benchmark Community Bank that provides various banking products and services in the United States. The company accepts various deposits, such as checking, saving, commercial services, and youth accounts. Its loan products include personal, mortgage, other real estate, business, auto, and student loans. The company also offers credit and debit cards; wealth management services comprising financial solutions, financial and retirement planning, and portfolio management, as well as estate, charitable giving, and trust services; and reorder checks, safe deposit boxes, wire transfers, bill pay, and internet and mobile banking services. The company was founded in 1971 and is based in Kenbridge, Virginia.

About Renasant

Renasant Corporation operates as a bank holding company for Renasant Bank that provides a range of financial, wealth management, fiduciary, and insurance services to retail and commercial customers. The company operates through Community Banks, Insurance, and Wealth Management segments. The Community Banks segment offers checking and savings accounts, business and personal loans, asset-based lending, and factoring equipment leasing services, as well as safe deposit and night depository facilities. It also provides commercial, financial, and agricultural loans; equipment financing and leasing; real estate1-4 family mortgage; real estatecommercial mortgage; real estateconstruction loans for the construction of single family residential properties, multi-family properties, and commercial projects; installment loans to individuals; and interim construction loans, as well as automated teller machine (ATM), online and mobile banking, call center, and treasury management services. The Insurance segment provides insurance agency services, such as commercial and personal insurance products through insurance carriers. The Wealth Management segment offers a range of wealth management and fiduciary services, including administration and management of trust accounts, such as personal and corporate benefit accounts, and custodial accounts, as well as accounting and money management for trust accounts; annuities, mutual funds, and other investment services through a third party broker-dealer; administrative and compliance services; and qualified retirement plans, IRAs, employee benefit plans, personal trusts, and estates. Renasant Corporation was founded in 1904 and is headquartered in Tupelo, Mississippi.