Republic Bancorp (NASDAQ:RBCAA) and Five Star Bancorp (NASDAQ:FSBC) Head to Head Analysis

Republic Bancorp (NASDAQ:RBCAA) and Five Star Bancorp (NASDAQ:FSBC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, risk, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Republic Bancorp and Five Star Bancorp”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Republic Bancorp	$414.06 million	4.32	$131.32 million	$6.62	13.76
Five Star Bancorp	$255.47 million	4.27	$61.61 million	$3.53	12.58

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for Republic Bancorp and Five Star Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Republic Bancorp	0	2	1	1	2.75
Five Star Bancorp	0	3	2	0	2.40

Republic Bancorp presently has a consensus price target of $98.00, indicating a potential upside of 7.55%. Five Star Bancorp has a consensus price target of $49.00, indicating a potential upside of 10.31%. Given Five Star Bancorp’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Five Star Bancorp is more favorable than Republic Bancorp.

Volatility and Risk

Republic Bancorp has a beta of 0.55, suggesting that its share price is 45% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Five Star Bancorp has a beta of 0.49, suggesting that its share price is 51% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

24.4% of Republic Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 46.9% of Five Star Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 55.9% of Republic Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 21.8% of Five Star Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Republic Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.98 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Five Star Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. Republic Bancorp pays out 29.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Five Star Bancorp pays out 28.3% 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. Republic Bancorp has raised its dividend for 27 consecutive years. Five Star Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Profitability

This table compares Republic Bancorp and Five Star Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Republic Bancorp	25.33%	11.12%	1.78%
Five Star Bancorp	26.58%	15.55%	1.50%

Summary

Republic Bancorp beats Five Star Bancorp on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Republic Bancorp

Republic Bancorp, Inc. is a financial holding company headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. Through its subsidiary, Republic Bank & Trust Company, it provides personal and business banking services, including deposit accounts, loans, mortgage products and cash-management services. The company also offers tax refund processing and related financial products through its Tax Refund Solutions business. These services support tax preparers and their customers across the United States. Republic Bank serves customers through banking locations in Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio and Florida, as well as through digital banking channels.

About Five Star Bancorp

Five Star Bancorp is a bank holding company headquartered in Rancho Cordova, California. It operates through its subsidiary, Five Star Bank, which provides commercial and consumer banking services to businesses, organizations and individuals. The bank offers deposit accounts, business and personal lending, cash management and other banking services. Its lending activities include financing for commercial real estate and business needs, alongside services for professionals and nonprofit organizations.