Contrasting Southern Missouri Bancorp (NASDAQ:SMBC) and Community Investors Bancorp (OTCMKTS:CIBN)

Southern Missouri Bancorp (NASDAQ:SMBC) and Community Investors Bancorp (OTCMKTS:CIBN) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, dividends and risk.

Risk and Volatility

Southern Missouri Bancorp has a beta of 0.88, meaning that its share price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Community Investors Bancorp has a beta of 0.04, meaning that its share price is 96% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Southern Missouri Bancorp and Community Investors Bancorp”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Southern Missouri Bancorp	$305.35 million	2.70	$58.58 million	$5.99	12.48
Community Investors Bancorp	$19.58 million	1.06	$1.82 million	$3.97	6.62

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

Profitability

This table compares Southern Missouri Bancorp and Community Investors Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Southern Missouri Bancorp	21.36%	12.05%	1.33%
Community Investors Bancorp	14.51%	N/A	N/A

Dividends

Southern Missouri Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. Community Investors Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Southern Missouri Bancorp pays out 16.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Community Investors Bancorp pays out 10.1% 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. Southern Missouri Bancorp has raised its dividend for 13 consecutive years. Community Investors Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Southern Missouri Bancorp and Community Investors Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Southern Missouri Bancorp	0	2	2	0	2.50
Community Investors Bancorp	0	0	0	0	0.00

Southern Missouri Bancorp currently has a consensus price target of $70.67, suggesting a potential downside of 5.48%. Given Southern Missouri Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Southern Missouri Bancorp is more favorable than Community Investors Bancorp.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

49.5% of Southern Missouri Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 15.8% of Southern Missouri Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 15.8% of Community Investors Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Southern Missouri Bancorp beats Community Investors Bancorp on 15 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Southern Missouri Bancorp

Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Southern Bank that provides banking and financial services to individuals and corporate customers in the United States. The company offers deposits products, including interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing transaction accounts, saving accounts, certificates of deposit, retirement savings plans, and money market deposit accounts. It also provides loans, such as residential mortgage, commercial real estate, construction, and commercial business loans; and consumer loans comprising home equity, direct and indirect automobile loans, second mortgages, mobile home loans, and loans secured by deposits. In addition, the company offers fiduciary and investment management services; commercial and consumer insurance; online and mobile banking services; and debit or credit cards. The company was founded in 1887 and is headquartered in Poplar Bluff, Missouri.

About Community Investors Bancorp

Community Investors Bancorp, Inc. operates as a thrift holding company for First Federal Community Bank of Bucyrus that engages in the provision of banking and financial services to individual and corporate customers in northern Ohio. The company offers deposit accounts, including demand, NOW, checking, savings, money market, Christmas club, health savings, certificates of deposit, time deposit, and individual retirement accounts. It also provides consumer loans, home equity loans, home equity line of credit, auto and RV loans, residential real estate loans, mortgage loans, and construction loans for personal use; and business loans, lines of credit, term loans, ag loans, nonresidential real estate loans, secured loans, credit cards, commercial investment real estate, construction loans, and equipment financing for business use. In addition, the company offers online and mobile banking, bill payments, e-statements, remote deposit capture, cash management, mobile and night deposits, debit cards, overdraft protection, safety deposit boxes, telephone banking, positive pay/check reconciliation, direct deposit, and ACH and payroll services. Community Investors Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1888 and is based in Bucyrus, Ohio.