LifeStore Financial Group (OTCMKTS:LSFG) & Home Federal Bancorp, Inc. of Louisiana (NASDAQ:HFBL) Financial Comparison

Home Federal Bancorp, Inc. of Louisiana (NASDAQ:HFBL) and LifeStore Financial Group (OTCMKTS:LSFG) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and profitability.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

21.1% of Home Federal Bancorp, Inc. of Louisiana shares are held by institutional investors. 19.4% of Home Federal Bancorp, Inc. of Louisiana shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 12.2% of LifeStore Financial Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Home Federal Bancorp, Inc. of Louisiana has a beta of 0.33, suggesting that its share price is 67% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, LifeStore Financial Group has a beta of 0.45, suggesting that its share price is 55% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Home Federal Bancorp, Inc. of Louisiana and LifeStore Financial Group”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Home Federal Bancorp, Inc. of Louisiana	$32.47 million	1.76	$3.89 million	$1.68	11.11
LifeStore Financial Group	$33.78 million	N/A	$5.56 million	N/A	N/A

LifeStore Financial Group has higher revenue and earnings than Home Federal Bancorp, Inc. of Louisiana.

Dividends

Home Federal Bancorp, Inc. of Louisiana pays an annual dividend of $0.54 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. LifeStore Financial Group pays an annual dividend of $0.65 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. Home Federal Bancorp, Inc. of Louisiana pays out 32.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Home Federal Bancorp, Inc. of Louisiana has increased its dividend for 11 consecutive years. Home Federal Bancorp, Inc. of Louisiana is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Home Federal Bancorp, Inc. of Louisiana and LifeStore Financial Group, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Home Federal Bancorp, Inc. of Louisiana	0	1	0	0	2.00
LifeStore Financial Group	0	0	0	0	0.00

Profitability

This table compares Home Federal Bancorp, Inc. of Louisiana and LifeStore Financial Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Home Federal Bancorp, Inc. of Louisiana	15.47%	9.28%	0.84%
LifeStore Financial Group	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

Home Federal Bancorp, Inc. of Louisiana beats LifeStore Financial Group on 8 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Home Federal Bancorp, Inc. of Louisiana

Home Federal Bancorp, Inc. of Louisiana operates as the holding company for Home Federal Bank that provides various financial services to individuals, corporate entities, and other organizations. The company accepts various deposits, such as passbook savings, certificates of deposit, and demand deposit accounts. Its loan products include one-to-four family residential real estate loans; commercial real estate secured loans; multi-family residential loans; commercial business loans; land loans; construction loans; home equity and second mortgage loans; lines of credit; and consumer non-real estate loans, including loans secured by deposit accounts, automobile loans, overdrafts, and other unsecured loans. The company operates through branches in Shreveport, Bossier City, Minden, and Benton, Louisiana. The company was founded in 1924 and is based in Shreveport, Louisiana.

About LifeStore Financial Group

LifeStore Financial Group, Inc. operates as a federally chartered thrift holding company for LifeStore Bank that provides personal and business banking products and services in North Carolina. The company offers checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit; mortgage loans, automobile loans, home equity lines of credit, commercial real estate loans, commercial construction loans, investment property loans, equipment loans, working capital loans/lines of credit, and small business administration loans; and credit cards. It also provides insurance agency products and services; investment and cash management services; and online and mobile banking services. The company was formerly known as AF Financial Group and changed its name to LifeStore Financial Group, Inc. in September 2009. LifeStore Financial Group, Inc. was founded in 1939 and is headquartered in West Jefferson, North Carolina. Lifestore Financial Group, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of AsheCo MHC, Inc.