Southern Banc (OTCMKTS:SRNN) & Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) Critical Contrast

Southern Banc (OTCMKTS:SRNN) and Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, risk and dividends.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

87.3% of Banner shares are held by institutional investors. 22.0% of Southern Banc shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.7% of Banner shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Southern Banc and Banner”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Southern Banc	$12.13 million	0.67	$920,000.00	$1.21	8.31
Banner	$832.99 million	2.71	$168.90 million	$5.49	12.08

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

Volatility & Risk

Southern Banc has a beta of -0.09, suggesting that its share price is 109% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Banner has a beta of 0.93, suggesting that its share price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Southern Banc and Banner, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Southern Banc	0	0	0	0	0.00
Banner	0	4	3	0	2.43

Banner has a consensus target price of $71.17, indicating a potential upside of 7.35%. Given Banner’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Banner is more favorable than Southern Banc.

Profitability

This table compares Southern Banc and Banner’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Southern Banc	7.55%	5.65%	0.75%
Banner	21.80%	10.32%	1.17%

Summary

Banner beats Southern Banc on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Southern Banc

The Southern Banc Company, Inc. operates as the holding company for The Southern Bank company that provides various banking products and services in Alabama. The company’s personal banking products include checking accounts, home mortgage loans, home equity loans, auto loans, and personal loans. Its business banking products comprise business checking accounts, cash flow management, real estate lending, and equipment financing. The Southern Banc Company, Inc. was founded in 1936 and is based in Gadsden, Alabama.

About Banner

Banner Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Banner Bank that engages in the provision of commercial banking and financial products and services to individuals, businesses, and public sector entities in the United States. It accepts various deposit instruments, including interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing checking accounts, money market deposit accounts, regular savings accounts, and certificates of deposit, as well as treasury management services and retirement savings plans. The company also provides commercial real estate loans, including owner-occupied, investment properties, and multifamily residential real estate loans; construction, land, and land development loans; one- to four-family residential real estate lending; commercial business loans; agricultural loans; consumer and other loans, such as home equity lines of credit, automobile, and boat and recreational vehicle loans, as well as loans secured by deposit accounts; and small business administration loans. In addition, it provides electronic and digital banking services comprising debit cards and ATMs, internet banking, remote deposit, and mobile banking services. The company was founded in 1890 and is based in Walla Walla, Washington.