Head-To-Head Comparison: Community Investors Bancorp (OTCMKTS:CIBN) & Southern Missouri Bancorp (NASDAQ:SMBC)

Community Investors Bancorp (OTCMKTS:CIBN) and Southern Missouri Bancorp (NASDAQ:SMBC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, earnings and dividends.

Volatility and Risk

Community Investors Bancorp has a beta of 0.04, meaning that its share price is 96% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Southern Missouri Bancorp has a beta of 0.88, meaning that its share price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Community Investors Bancorp and Southern Missouri Bancorp”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Community Investors Bancorp	$19.58 million	0.99	$1.82 million	$3.97	6.17
Southern Missouri Bancorp	$305.35 million	2.62	$58.58 million	$5.99	12.11

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

Dividends

Community Investors Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Southern Missouri Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Community Investors Bancorp pays out 10.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Southern Missouri Bancorp pays out 16.7% 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. Southern Missouri Bancorp has increased its dividend for 13 consecutive years. Community Investors Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Profitability

This table compares Community Investors Bancorp and Southern Missouri Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Community Investors Bancorp	14.51%	N/A	N/A
Southern Missouri Bancorp	21.36%	12.05%	1.33%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

49.5% of Southern Missouri Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 15.8% of Community Investors Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 15.8% of Southern Missouri Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for Community Investors Bancorp and Southern Missouri Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Community Investors Bancorp	0	0	0	0	0.00
Southern Missouri Bancorp	0	2	2	0	2.50

Southern Missouri Bancorp has a consensus target price of $70.67, suggesting a potential downside of 2.54%. Given Southern Missouri Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Southern Missouri Bancorp is more favorable than Community Investors Bancorp.

Summary

Southern Missouri Bancorp beats Community Investors Bancorp on 15 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Community Investors Bancorp

Community Investors Bancorp, Inc. operates as a thrift holding company for First Federal Community Bank of Bucyrus that engages in the provision of banking and financial services to individual and corporate customers in northern Ohio. The company offers deposit accounts, including demand, NOW, checking, savings, money market, Christmas club, health savings, certificates of deposit, time deposit, and individual retirement accounts. It also provides consumer loans, home equity loans, home equity line of credit, auto and RV loans, residential real estate loans, mortgage loans, and construction loans for personal use; and business loans, lines of credit, term loans, ag loans, nonresidential real estate loans, secured loans, credit cards, commercial investment real estate, construction loans, and equipment financing for business use. In addition, the company offers online and mobile banking, bill payments, e-statements, remote deposit capture, cash management, mobile and night deposits, debit cards, overdraft protection, safety deposit boxes, telephone banking, positive pay/check reconciliation, direct deposit, and ACH and payroll services. Community Investors Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1888 and is based in Bucyrus, Ohio.

About Southern Missouri Bancorp

Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Southern Bank that provides banking and financial services to individuals and corporate customers in the United States. The company offers deposits products, including interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing transaction accounts, saving accounts, certificates of deposit, retirement savings plans, and money market deposit accounts. It also provides loans, such as residential mortgage, commercial real estate, construction, and commercial business loans; and consumer loans comprising home equity, direct and indirect automobile loans, second mortgages, mobile home loans, and loans secured by deposits. In addition, the company offers fiduciary and investment management services; commercial and consumer insurance; online and mobile banking services; and debit or credit cards. The company was founded in 1887 and is headquartered in Poplar Bluff, Missouri.