Critical Review: Renasant (NYSE:RNST) vs. Origin Bancorp (NYSE:OBK)

Origin Bancorp (NYSE:OBK) and Renasant (NYSE:RNST) are both financial services companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Origin Bancorp and Renasant’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Origin Bancorp	10.23%	5.05%	0.62%
Renasant	11.26%	6.99%	1.01%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Origin Bancorp and Renasant, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Origin Bancorp	0	1	4	1	3.00
Renasant	0	1	0	1	3.00

Origin Bancorp presently has a consensus price target of $43.40, suggesting a potential upside of 27.68%. Given Origin Bancorp’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Origin Bancorp is more favorable than Renasant.

Risk and Volatility

Origin Bancorp has a beta of 0.81, suggesting that its share price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Renasant has a beta of 0.98, suggesting that its share price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

54.7% of Origin Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 77.3% of Renasant shares are held by institutional investors. 6.4% of Origin Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.8% of Renasant shares are held 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.

Dividends

Origin Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. Renasant pays an annual dividend of $0.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Origin Bancorp pays out 31.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Renasant pays out 46.2% 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.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Origin Bancorp and Renasant”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Origin Bancorp	$619.96 million	1.70	$76.49 million	$1.91	17.80
Renasant	$874.43 million	3.63	$195.46 million	$1.99	16.81

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

Summary

Renasant beats Origin Bancorp on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Origin Bancorp

Origin Bancorp, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for Origin Bank that provides banking and financial services to small and medium-sized businesses, municipalities, high net worth individuals, and retail clients in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. It offers noninterest and interest-bearing checking accounts, savings deposits, money market accounts, and time deposits; and offers commercial real estate, construction and land development, consumer, residential real estate, commercial and industrial, mortgage warehouse, residential mortgage, and paycheck protection program loans. The company also offers personal and commercial property, and casualty insurance products; and Internet banking and voice response information, mobile applications, cash management, overdraft protection, direct deposit, safe deposit box, U.S. savings bonds, and automatic account transfer services; and treasury management, mortgage origination and servicing facilities, peer-to-peer electronic pay solutions, and personal financial management solutions. As of December 31, 2021, it operated 44 banking centers. The company was founded in 1912 and is headquartered in Ruston, Louisiana.

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. It operates through three segments: Community Banks, Insurance, and Wealth Management. The Community Banks segment offers checking and savings accounts, business and personal loans, asset-based lending, and 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 estate–1-4 family mortgage; real estate–commercial mortgage; real estate–construction 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; and qualified retirement plans, IRAs, employee benefit plans, personal trusts, and estates. As of December 31, 2021, the company operated a network of 189 banking, lending, and mortgage offices located in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee; 150 full-service branches and 11 limited-service branches; 173 ATMs; and 38 interactive teller machines. Renasant Corporation was founded in 1904 and is headquartered in Tupelo, Mississippi.