Contrasting First Niles Financial (OTCMKTS:FNFI) & Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC)

First Niles Financial (OTCMKTS:FNFI) and Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, risk, institutional ownership, profitability and dividends.

Risk and Volatility

First Niles Financial has a beta of 0.32, suggesting that its stock price is 68% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Great Southern Bancorp has a beta of 0.5, suggesting that its stock price is 50% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

41.7% of Great Southern Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 23.4% of First Niles Financial shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 29.8% of Great Southern Bancorp 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.

Dividends

First Niles Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Great Southern Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. First Niles Financial pays out 51.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Great Southern Bancorp pays out 27.3% 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.

Profitability

This table compares First Niles Financial and Great Southern Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Niles Financial	N/A	N/A	N/A
Great Southern Bancorp	21.33%	11.29%	1.25%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for First Niles Financial and Great Southern Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Niles Financial	0	0	0	0	0.00
Great Southern Bancorp	0	2	1	0	2.33

Great Southern Bancorp has a consensus price target of $65.00, suggesting a potential downside of 13.12%. Given Great Southern Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Great Southern Bancorp is more favorable than First Niles Financial.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares First Niles Financial and Great Southern Bancorp”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Niles Financial	$14.03 million	0.85	$840,000.00	$0.47	16.49
Great Southern Bancorp	$342.78 million	2.38	$70.97 million	$6.31	11.86

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

Summary

Great Southern Bancorp beats First Niles Financial on 14 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About First Niles Financial

First Niles Financial, Inc. operates as a holding company for the Home Federal Savings and Loan Association of Niles that provides various banking products and services in Ohio, the United States. The company offers personal and business checking and savings, money market deposit, and Christmas club accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. It also provides various loans, including mortgage and consumer loans, home equity lines of credit, and commercial loans and lines of credit. In addition, the company provides e-statement, and night depository services; debit and ATM cards; safe deposit boxes; direct deposits; I.R.A. certificates of deposit and savings accounts; and online banking services. First Niles Financial, Inc. was founded in 1897 and is based in Niles, Ohio.

About Great Southern Bancorp

Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for Great Southern Bank that provides a range of financial services in the United States. Its deposit products include regular savings accounts, checking accounts, money market accounts, fixed interest rate certificates with varying maturities, certificates of deposit, brokered certificates, and individual retirement accounts. The company's loan portfolio comprises residential and commercial real estate loans, commercial business loans, construction loans, home improvement loans, and unsecured consumer loans, as well as secured consumer loans, such as automobile loans, boat loans, home equity loans, and loans secured by savings deposits. It also provides insurance and merchant banking services. The company was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in Springfield, Missouri.