Comparing Dime Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:DCOM) & Community Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:CTBI)

Dime Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:DCOM) and Community Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:CTBI) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership and risk.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Dime Community Bancshares and Community Trust Bancorp”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Dime Community Bancshares	$473.00 million	3.52	$110.68 million	$2.66	14.20
Community Trust Bancorp	$409.34 million	3.00	$98.06 million	$5.71	11.84

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

Profitability

This table compares Dime Community Bancshares and Community Trust Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Dime Community Bancshares	15.15%	9.12%	0.83%
Community Trust Bancorp	24.85%	12.27%	1.56%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

75.3% of Dime Community Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 60.2% of Community Trust Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.4% of Dime Community Bancshares shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.6% of Community Trust Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Dime Community Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Community Trust Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $2.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Dime Community Bancshares pays out 37.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Community Trust Bancorp pays out 37.1% 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. Dime Community Bancshares has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years and Community Trust Bancorp has raised its dividend for 44 consecutive years. Community Trust Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Risk and Volatility

Dime Community Bancshares has a beta of 1, suggesting that its stock price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.Comparatively, Community Trust Bancorp has a beta of 0.54, suggesting that its stock price is 46% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Dime Community Bancshares and Community Trust Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Dime Community Bancshares	0	2	3	1	2.83
Community Trust Bancorp	0	0	2	2	3.50

Dime Community Bancshares currently has a consensus target price of $39.75, indicating a potential upside of 5.26%. Community Trust Bancorp has a consensus target price of $63.50, indicating a potential downside of 6.04%. Given Dime Community Bancshares’ higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Dime Community Bancshares is more favorable than Community Trust Bancorp.

About Dime Community Bancshares

Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. operates as the holding company for Dime Community Bank that engages in the provision of various commercial banking and financial services. The company accepts time, savings, and demand deposits from the businesses, consumers, and local municipalities. It also offers commercial real estate loans; multi-family mortgage loans; residential mortgage loans; letters of credit; secured and unsecured commercial and consumer loans; lines of credit; home equity loans; and construction and land loans. In addition, the company invests in Federal Home Loan Bank, Federal National Mortgage Association, Government National Mortgage Association, and Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation mortgage-backed securities, collateralized mortgage obligations, and other asset backed securities; U.S. Treasury securities; New York state and local municipal obligations; U.S. government-sponsored enterprise securities; and corporate bonds. Further, it offers certificate of deposit account registry services and insured cash sweep programs; federal deposit insurance corporation insurance; merchant credit and debit card processing, automated teller machines, cash management services, lockbox processing, online banking services, remote deposit capture, safe deposit boxes, and individual retirement accounts; investment products and services through a third-party broker dealer; and title insurance broker services for small and medium sized businesses, and municipal and consumer relationships. The company was founded in 1910 and is headquartered in Hauppauge, New York.

About Community Trust Bancorp

Community Trust Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Community Trust Bank, Inc. that engages in the provision of commercial and personal banking, and trust and wealth management services to small and mid-sized communities in eastern, northeastern, central, and south-central Kentucky, as well as southern West Virginia, and northeastern Tennessee. The company accepts time and demand deposits, checking accounts, savings accounts and savings certificates, individual retirement accounts and Keogh plans, and money market accounts. Its loan portfolio includes commercial, construction, mortgage, and personal loans; lease-financing, lines of credit, revolving lines of credit, and term loans, as well as other specialized loans, including asset-based financing; residential and commercial real estate loans; and consumer loans. The company also provides cash management, renting safe deposit boxes, and funds transfer services; issues letters of credit; and acts as a trustee of personal trusts, executor of estates, trustee for employee benefit trusts, and paying agent for bond and stock issues, as well as an investment agent and depositor for securities. In addition, it offers securities brokerage services; debit cards; annuity and life insurance products; and repurchase agreements, as well as mobile, internet banking, and e-statement services. The company was founded in 1903 and is headquartered in Pikeville, Kentucky.