Reviewing LCNB (LCNB) and Its Peers

LCNB (NASDAQ:LCNB) is one of 919 publicly-traded companies in the “Banks” industry, but how does it compare to its peers? We will compare LCNB to related businesses based on the strength of its risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability and dividends.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares LCNB and its peers top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
LCNB	$97.57 million	$23.12 million	11.23
LCNB Competitors	$32.39 billion	$2.42 billion	21.32

LCNB’s peers have higher revenue and earnings than LCNB. LCNB is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Profitability

This table compares LCNB and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
LCNB	20.02%	8.95%	1.11%
LCNB Competitors	15.64%	9.43%	0.93%

Risk and Volatility

LCNB has a beta of 0.59, indicating that its stock price is 41% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, LCNB’s peers have a beta of 0.61, indicating that their average stock price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

LCNB pays an annual dividend of $0.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.5%. LCNB pays out 50.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Banks” companies pay a dividend yield of 8.9% and pay out 28.9% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. LCNB has raised its dividend for 7 consecutive years. LCNB lags its peers as a dividend stock, given its lower dividend yield and higher payout ratio.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for LCNB and its peers, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
LCNB	0	2	1	0	2.33
LCNB Competitors	7490	30240	27840	1484	2.35

LCNB currently has a consensus price target of $20.00, indicating a potential upside of 1.73%. As a group, “Banks” companies have a potential upside of 14.66%. Given LCNB’s peers stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe LCNB has less favorable growth aspects than its peers.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

34.7% of LCNB shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 47.8% of shares of all “Banks” companies are owned by institutional investors. 5.7% of LCNB shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 9.7% of shares of all “Banks” companies are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

LCNB peers beat LCNB on 13 of the 15 factors compared.

About LCNB

LCNB Corporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Lebanon, Ohio. Its principal subsidiary, LCNB National Bank, operates as a community bank serving individuals, families, businesses and nonprofit organizations. LCNB National Bank provides a range of traditional banking products and services, including checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, consumer and commercial loans, residential mortgages, home equity financing and agricultural lending. The bank also offers digital banking, treasury management and other cash-management services designed to support personal and business customers.