Reviewing Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) and Community Bancorp (OTCMKTS:CMTV)

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) and Community Bancorp (OTCMKTS:CMTV) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Cullen/Frost Bankers and Community Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cullen/Frost Bankers	18.81%	15.82%	1.15%
Community Bancorp	20.29%	13.48%	1.09%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Cullen/Frost Bankers and Community Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cullen/Frost Bankers	3	8	3	0	2.00
Community Bancorp	0	0	0	0	0.00

Cullen/Frost Bankers presently has a consensus price target of $127.07, suggesting a potential downside of 8.93%. Given Cullen/Frost Bankers’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Cullen/Frost Bankers is more favorable than Community Bancorp.

Volatility & Risk

Cullen/Frost Bankers has a beta of 0.99, suggesting that its share price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Community Bancorp has a beta of 0.31, suggesting that its share price is 69% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

86.9% of Cullen/Frost Bankers shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.9% of Cullen/Frost Bankers shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 9.3% of Community Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Cullen/Frost Bankers and Community Bancorp”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cullen/Frost Bankers	$2.03 billion	4.41	$597.97 million	$8.06	17.31
Community Bancorp	$54.08 million	1.72	$13.43 million	$2.18	7.64

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

Dividends

Cullen/Frost Bankers pays an annual dividend of $3.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Community Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.8%. Cullen/Frost Bankers pays out 47.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Community Bancorp pays out 44.0% 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. Cullen/Frost Bankers has increased its dividend for 31 consecutive years. Community Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Cullen/Frost Bankers beats Community Bancorp on 13 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Cullen/Frost Bankers

Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Frost Bank that provides commercial and consumer banking services in Texas. The company offers commercial banking services to corporations, including financing for industrial and commercial properties, interim construction related to industrial and commercial properties, equipment, inventories and accounts receivables, and acquisitions; and treasury management services, as well as originates commercial leasing services. It also provides consumer banking services, such as checking accounts, savings programs, automated-teller machines (ATMs), overdraft facilities, installment and real estate loans, first mortgage loans, home equity loans and lines of credit, drive-in and night deposit services, safe deposit facilities, and brokerage services. In addition, the company offers international banking services comprising deposits, loans, letters of credit, foreign collections, funds transmitting, and foreign exchange services; correspondent banking activities, including check clearing, transfer of funds, fixed income security services, and securities custody and clearance services. Further, it offers trust, investment, agency, and custodial services for individual and corporate clients; capital market services that include sales and trading, new issue underwriting, money market trading, advisory, and securities safekeeping and clearance; and support for international business activities, including foreign exchange, letters of credit, export-import financing, and other related activities. Additionally, the company offers insurance and securities brokerage services; holding of securities for investment purposes; and investment management services for mutual funds, institutions, and individuals. It serves energy, manufacturing, services, construction, retail, telecommunications, healthcare, military, and transportation industries. The company was founded in 1868 and is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas.

About Community Bancorp

Community Bancorp. operates as the bank holding company for Community National Bank that provides financial services to individuals, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and municipalities in northern and central Vermont. It offers financing for commercial business properties, equipment, inventories, and accounts receivable, as well as standby letters of credit; and business checking and other deposit accounts, cash management services, repurchase agreements, ACH and wire transfer services, card processing, and remote deposit capture. The company also provides commercial real estate lending products, including financing for commercial developers and investors, residential builders and developers, and community development entities, including credit products to facilitate the purchase of land and/or build structures for business; to develop residential or commercial properties; and for real estate secured financing of existing businesses, as well as financing to startups and other small businesses. In addition, it offers residential real estate lending products, including fixed-rate and adjustable rate residential mortgage and home equity loans; and retail credit services, which includes personal, automobile, and boat/recreational vehicle loans. The company also provides municipal and institutional banking services, such as deposit account services, term and tax-exempt loans, and lines of credit to state and local governments, schools, charities, membership, and not-for-profit associations. Further, it offers consumer banking services, including checking accounts, savings programs, ATMs, debit and credit cards, night deposit facilities, and online, mobile and telephone banking services. Community Bancorp. was founded in 1851 and is headquartered in Derby, Vermont.