Reviewing Capital City Bank Group (NASDAQ:CCBG) & Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC)

Simmons First National (NASDAQ:SFNC) and Capital City Bank Group (NASDAQ:CCBG) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership and earnings.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Simmons First National and Capital City Bank Group, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Simmons First National	0	5	2	2	2.67
Capital City Bank Group	0	3	1	0	2.25

Simmons First National presently has a consensus target price of $23.00, indicating a potential upside of 3.02%. Capital City Bank Group has a consensus target price of $49.75, indicating a potential upside of 3.21%. Given Capital City Bank Group’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Capital City Bank Group is more favorable than Simmons First National.

Dividends

Simmons First National pays an annual dividend of $0.86 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Capital City Bank Group pays an annual dividend of $1.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Simmons First National pays out -33.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Capital City Bank Group pays out 30.6% 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. Simmons First National has increased its dividend for 14 consecutive years and Capital City Bank Group has increased its dividend for 11 consecutive years. Simmons First National is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Simmons First National and Capital City Bank Group”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Simmons First National	$1.43 billion	2.27	-$397.55 million	($2.56)	-8.72
Capital City Bank Group	$286.74 million	2.87	$61.56 million	$3.53	13.66

Capital City Bank Group has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Simmons First National. Simmons First National is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Capital City Bank Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Simmons First National and Capital City Bank Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Simmons First National	-25.44%	7.81%	1.07%
Capital City Bank Group	21.01%	11.10%	1.38%

Volatility & Risk

Simmons First National has a beta of 0.9, suggesting that its share price is 10% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Capital City Bank Group has a beta of 0.31, suggesting that its share price is 69% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

27.6% of Simmons First National shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 44.6% of Capital City Bank Group shares are held by institutional investors. 0.8% of Simmons First National shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 19.8% of Capital City Bank Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Capital City Bank Group beats Simmons First National on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Simmons First National

Simmons First National Corporation operates as the holding company for Simmons Bank that provides banking and other financial products and services to individuals and businesses. The company offers checking, savings, and time deposits; consumer, real estate, and commercial loans; agricultural finance, equipment, and small business administration lending; trust and fiduciary services; credit cards; investment management products; treasury management; insurance products; and securities and investment services. It also provides ATM services; Internet and mobile banking platforms; overdraft facilities; and safe deposit boxes. The company was founded in 1903 and is headquartered in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.

About Capital City Bank Group

Capital City Bank Group, Inc. operates as the financial holding company for Capital City Bank that provides a range of banking- related services to individual and corporate clients. The company offers financing for commercial business properties, equipment, inventories, and accounts receivable, as well as commercial leasing and letters of credit; treasury management services; and merchant credit card transaction processing services. It also provides commercial and residential real estate lending products, as well as fixed and adjustable-rate residential mortgage loans; personal, automobile, boat/RV, and home equity loans; and credit card programs. In addition, the company offers institutional banking services, including customized checking and savings accounts, cash management systems, tax-exempt loans, lines of credit, and term loans to meet the needs of state and local governments, public schools and colleges, charities, membership, and not-for-profit associations. Further, it provides consumer banking services comprising checking accounts, savings programs, interactive/automated teller machines, debit/credit cards, night deposit services, safe deposit facilities, and online and mobile banking services. Additionally, the company provides asset management for individuals through agency, personal trust, IRA, and personal investment management accounts; and various retail securities products, such as the U.S. government bonds, tax-free municipal bonds, stocks, mutual funds, unit investment trusts, annuities, life insurance, and long-term health care, as well as business, estate, financial, insurance and business planning, tax planning, and asset protection advisory services. Capital City Bank Group, Inc. was founded in 1895 and is headquartered in Tallahassee, Florida.