Head to Head Contrast: Oak Ridge Financial Services (OTCMKTS:BKOR) and National Bank (NYSE:NBHC)

Oak Ridge Financial Services (OTCMKTS:BKOR) and National Bank (NYSE:NBHC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership, profitability and earnings.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

4.2% of Oak Ridge Financial Services shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.7% of National Bank shares are owned by institutional investors. 25.6% of Oak Ridge Financial Services shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.1% of National Bank shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Oak Ridge Financial Services has a beta of 0.35, indicating that its stock price is 65% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, National Bank has a beta of 0.86, indicating that its stock price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Oak Ridge Financial Services pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. National Bank pays an annual dividend of $1.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Oak Ridge Financial Services pays out 22.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. National Bank pays out 32.2% 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.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Oak Ridge Financial Services and National Bank, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Oak Ridge Financial Services	0	0	0	0	N/A
National Bank	0	3	2	0	2.40

National Bank has a consensus target price of $46.40, suggesting a potential upside of 10.94%. Given National Bank’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe National Bank is more favorable than Oak Ridge Financial Services.

Profitability

This table compares Oak Ridge Financial Services and National Bank’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Oak Ridge Financial Services	14.47%	N/A	N/A
National Bank	21.40%	10.44%	1.28%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Oak Ridge Financial Services and National Bank’s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Oak Ridge Financial Services	$35.36 million	1.42	$5.74 million	$2.13	8.52
National Bank	$406.12 million	3.90	$142.05 million	$3.48	12.02

National Bank has higher revenue and earnings than Oak Ridge Financial Services. Oak Ridge Financial Services is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than National Bank, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

National Bank beats Oak Ridge Financial Services on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Oak Ridge Financial Services

Oak Ridge Financial Services, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for Bank of Oak Ridge that provides various banking products and services for individuals and businesses. It offers checking, savings, and money market accounts; overdrafts; auto, home equity, mortgage, business term, and business SBA loans; business lines of credit; credit cards; and online and mobile banking products and services. The company also provides health savings accounts, identity theft protection, wealth management, cash management, and remote deposit capture services; and auto, home, small business, renters, life, boat and watercraft, classic car, motorcycle, flood, pet, and umbrella insurance products. It operates through a network of branches in Oak Ridge, Greensboro, and Summerfield, North Carolina. The company was founded in 2000 and is based in Oak Ridge, North Carolina.

About National Bank

National Bank Holdings Corporation operates as the bank holding company for NBH Bank that provides various banking products and financial services to commercial, business, and consumer clients in the United States. It offers deposit products, including checking, savings, money market, and other deposit accounts, including fixed-rate and fixed maturity time deposits. The company also provides commercial and industrial loans and leases, such as working capital loans, equipment loans, lender finance loans, food and agriculture loans, government and non-profit loans, owner occupied commercial real estate loans, and other commercial loans and leases; non-owner occupied commercial real estate loans consisting of loans on commercial properties, such as office buildings, warehouse/distribution buildings, multi-family, hospitality, and retail buildings; small business administration loans to support small businesses and entrepreneurs; term loans, line of credits, and real estate secured loans; residential real estate loans; and consumer loans. In addition, it offers treasury management solutions comprising online and mobile banking, commercial credit card, wire transfer, automated clearing house, electronic bill payment, lock box, remote deposit capture, merchant processing, cash vault, controlled disbursements, and fraud prevention services, as well as other auxiliary services, including account reconciliation, collections, repurchase accounts, zero balance accounts, and sweep accounts. The company operates through a network of banking centers located in Colorado, the greater Kansas City region, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, and Texas. It also operates ATMs. The company was formerly known as NBH Holdings Corp. and changed its name to National Bank Holdings Corporation in March 2012. The company was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colorado.