Virginia National Bankshares (NASDAQ:VABK) & SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK) Financial Comparison

Virginia National Bankshares (NASDAQ:VABK) and SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, risk, earnings, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Dividends

Virginia National Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $1.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. SmartFinancial pays an annual dividend of $0.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Virginia National Bankshares pays out 41.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. SmartFinancial pays out 20.5% 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.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Virginia National Bankshares and SmartFinancial’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Virginia National Bankshares	$79.09 million	2.06	$19.26 million	$3.18	9.54
SmartFinancial	$240.37 million	1.59	$28.59 million	$1.56	14.32

SmartFinancial has higher revenue and earnings than Virginia National Bankshares. Virginia National Bankshares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than SmartFinancial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

37.4% of Virginia National Bankshares shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 58.8% of SmartFinancial shares are held by institutional investors. 12.6% of Virginia National Bankshares shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 7.7% of SmartFinancial shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Virginia National Bankshares and SmartFinancial, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Virginia National Bankshares	0	0	0	0	N/A
SmartFinancial	0	2	2	1	2.80

SmartFinancial has a consensus price target of $25.60, indicating a potential upside of 14.59%. Given SmartFinancial’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe SmartFinancial is more favorable than Virginia National Bankshares.

Volatility and Risk

Virginia National Bankshares has a beta of 0.4, meaning that its stock price is 60% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SmartFinancial has a beta of 0.71, meaning that its stock price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Virginia National Bankshares and SmartFinancial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Virginia National Bankshares	21.09%	11.73%	1.07%
SmartFinancial	10.65%	6.88%	0.65%

Summary

SmartFinancial beats Virginia National Bankshares on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Virginia National Bankshares

Virginia National Bankshares Corporation operates as the holding company for Virginia National Bank that provides a range of commercial and retail banking services. The company operates through Bank, Sturman Wealth Advisors, VNB Trust and Estate Services, and Masonry Capital segments. It provides checking accounts, demand deposits, NOW accounts, money market deposit accounts, time deposits, certificates of deposit, individual retirement accounts, and other depository services. In addition, the company offers commercial and industrial loans, real estate construction and land loans, commercial real estate loans, and 1-4 family residential mortgages, as well as consumer loans comprising student loans, revolving credit, and other fixed payment loans. Further, it provides automated teller machines, internet banking, treasury, and cash management services; merchant and debit card services; and wealth and investment advisory, and brokerage services. Additionally, the company offers investment management, corporate trustee, trust and estate administration, IRA administration, house investment management, and custody services. It serves individuals, businesses, and charitable organizations in the Charlottesville/Albemarle County, Fauquier County, Manassas, Prince William County, Richmond, and Winchester market areas in Virginia. Virginia National Bankshares Corporation was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Charlottesville, Virginia.

About SmartFinancial

SmartFinancial, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for SmartBank that provides various financial services to individuals and corporate customers in Tennessee, Alabama, and Florida. It operates through Commercial Real Estate, Consumer Real Estate, Construction and Land Development, Commercial and Industrial, Leases, and Consumer and Other segments. The company offers noninterest-bearing and interest-bearing checking, interest-bearing demand, savings, money market, time deposit, individual retirement accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. It also provides commercial and residential real estate, consumer real estate, and construction and land development loans; commercial and financial loans and leases; commercial business and mortgage loans; and direct consumer installment, educational, agriculture, and other revolving credit loans; equipment financing, heavy equipment, semis, and trailers loans and leases to small and mid-size companies; letters of credit; and overdraft facilities. In addition, the company offers wealth management, insurance, mortgage origination, and internet and mobile banking services. SmartFinancial, Inc. is headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee.