Republic Bancorp (NASDAQ:RBCAA) & Stock Yards Bancorp (NASDAQ:SYBT) Financial Review

Stock Yards Bancorp (NASDAQ:SYBT) and Republic Bancorp (NASDAQ:RBCAA) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings and dividends.

Dividends

Stock Yards Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Republic Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.62 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Stock Yards Bancorp pays out 34.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Republic Bancorp pays out 30.8% 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. Stock Yards Bancorp has increased its dividend for 15 consecutive years and Republic Bancorp has increased its dividend for 26 consecutive years. Republic Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

This table compares Stock Yards Bancorp and Republic Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Stock Yards Bancorp	21.62%	12.00%	1.29%
Republic Bancorp	20.65%	10.79%	1.52%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

56.5% of Stock Yards Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 24.4% of Republic Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.9% of Stock Yards Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 55.5% of Republic Bancorp shares are owned 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.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Stock Yards Bancorp and Republic Bancorp”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Stock Yards Bancorp	$438.92 million	5.10	$107.75 million	$3.64	20.91
Republic Bancorp	$371.07 million	4.00	$90.37 million	$5.26	14.50

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Stock Yards Bancorp and Republic Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Stock Yards Bancorp	0	4	0	0	2.00
Republic Bancorp	0	1	0	0	2.00

Stock Yards Bancorp presently has a consensus price target of $69.25, suggesting a potential downside of 9.03%. Republic Bancorp has a consensus price target of $80.00, suggesting a potential upside of 4.88%. Given Republic Bancorp’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Republic Bancorp is more favorable than Stock Yards Bancorp.

Risk and Volatility

Stock Yards Bancorp has a beta of 0.81, indicating that its share price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Republic Bancorp has a beta of 0.51, indicating that its share price is 49% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Stock Yards Bancorp beats Republic Bancorp on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Stock Yards Bancorp

Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc. operates as a holding company for Stock Yards Bank & Trust Company that provides various financial services for individuals, corporations, and others in the United States. It operates in two segments, Commercial Banking, and WM&T. The Commercial Banking segment offers a range of loan and deposit products to individual consumers and businesses in all its markets through retail lending, mortgage banking, deposit services, online banking, mobile banking, private banking, commercial lending, commercial real estate lending, leasing, treasury management services, merchant services, international banking, correspondent banking, and other banking services. This segment also provides securities brokerage services through an arrangement with a third party broker-dealer. The WM&T segment provides investment management, financial and retirement planning, and trust and estate services, as well as retirement plan management for businesses and corporations. It provides services in Louisville, central, eastern, and northern Kentucky, as well as Indianapolis, Indiana and Cincinnati, Ohio metropolitan markets. The company was founded in 1904 and is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky.

About Republic Bancorp

Republic Bancorp, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for Republic Bank & Trust Company that provides various banking products and services in the United States. It operates in six segments: Traditional Banking, Warehouse, Mortgage Banking, Tax Refund Solutions, Republic Payment Solutions, and Republic Credit Solutions. The company offers demand, money market accounts, savings, individual retirement accounts, time, brokered, and other certificates of deposit; and retail and commercial mortgage, construction and land development, consumer, aircraft, and marine loans. It also provides credit cards; title insurance and other financial products and services; and private banking, lockbox processing, remote deposit capture, business online banking, account reconciliation, automated clearing house processing, and internet and mobile banking services. In addition, it offers short-term and revolving credit facilities to mortgage bankers through mortgage warehouse lines of credit; mortgage banking; tax refund solutions, which facilitate the receipt and payment of federal and state tax refund products through third-party tax preparers and tax-preparation software providers; payments-related products and services to consumers through third party service providers; and consumer credit products. The company offers its services through full-services banking centers in Kentucky, Indiana, Florida, Ohio, and Tennessee. Republic Bancorp, Inc. was incorporated in 1974 and is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky.