Head-To-Head Contrast: Kentucky First Federal Bancorp (NASDAQ:KFFB) versus ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS)

Kentucky First Federal Bancorp (NASDAQ:KFFB) and ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation and earnings.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

3.2% of Kentucky First Federal Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 67.3% of ServisFirst Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. 3.9% of Kentucky First Federal Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.7% of ServisFirst Bancshares shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Kentucky First Federal Bancorp and ServisFirst Bancshares, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Kentucky First Federal Bancorp	0	1	0	0	2.00
ServisFirst Bancshares	0	1	2	2	3.20

ServisFirst Bancshares has a consensus price target of $93.67, indicating a potential upside of 15.90%. Given ServisFirst Bancshares’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe ServisFirst Bancshares is more favorable than Kentucky First Federal Bancorp.

Profitability

This table compares Kentucky First Federal Bancorp and ServisFirst Bancshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Kentucky First Federal Bancorp	4.04%	1.71%	0.22%
ServisFirst Bancshares	26.95%	16.36%	1.61%

Volatility & Risk

Kentucky First Federal Bancorp has a beta of 0.12, suggesting that its share price is 88% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ServisFirst Bancshares has a beta of 0.94, suggesting that its share price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Kentucky First Federal Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 8.7%. ServisFirst Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $1.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. Kentucky First Federal Bancorp pays out 400.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. ServisFirst Bancshares pays out 30.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. ServisFirst Bancshares has raised its dividend for 10 consecutive years.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Kentucky First Federal Bancorp and ServisFirst Bancshares”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Kentucky First Federal Bancorp	$10.12 million	3.67	$180,000.00	$0.10	45.90
ServisFirst Bancshares	$1.02 billion	4.34	$276.60 million	$5.06	15.97

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

Summary

ServisFirst Bancshares beats Kentucky First Federal Bancorp on 16 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Kentucky First Federal Bancorp

Kentucky First Federal Bancorp operates as the holding company for First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Hazard, and Frankfort First Bancorp, Inc. that provide various banking products and services in Kentucky. It accepts deposit products include passbook savings and certificate accounts, checking accounts, and individual retirement accounts. The company's loan portfolio comprises one-to four-family residential mortgage loans; construction loans; mortgage loans secured by multi-family property; nonresidential loans that are secured by commercial office buildings, churches, and properties used for other purposes; commercial non-mortgage loans; and consumer loans, such as home equity lines of credit, loans secured by savings deposits, automobile loans, and unsecured or personal loans. It also invests in mortgage-backed securities. The company was incorporated in 2005 and is based in Hazard, Kentucky. Kentucky First Federal Bancorp is a subsidiary of First Federal MHC.

About ServisFirst Bancshares

ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for ServisFirst Bank that provides various banking services to individual and corporate customers. It accepts demand, time, savings, and other deposits; checking, money market, and IRA accounts; and certificates of deposit. The company's loan products include commercial lending products, including seasonal, bridge, and term loans for working capital, expansion of the business, acquisition of property, and plant and equipment, as well as commercial lines of credit; commercial real estate loans, construction and development loans, and residential real estate loans; and consumer loans, such as home equity loans, vehicle financing, loans secured by deposits, and secured and unsecured personal loans. It also offers other banking products and services comprising telephone and mobile banking, Internet banking, direct deposit, traveler's checks, safe deposit boxes, attorney trust accounts, automatic account transfers, automated teller machines, and debit and credit card systems; treasury and cash management services; wire transfer, night depository, banking-by-mail, and remote capture services; and correspondent banking services to other financial institutions. In addition, the company holds and manages participations in residential mortgages and commercial real estate loans originated by ServisFirst Bank in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee. The company was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama.