Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) versus Ohio Valley Banc (NASDAQ:OVBC) Critical Comparison

Ohio Valley Banc (NASDAQ:OVBC) and Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares Ohio Valley Banc and Great Southern Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ohio Valley Banc	14.31%	8.37%	0.88%
Great Southern Bancorp	20.72%	10.83%	1.22%

Volatility & Risk

Ohio Valley Banc has a beta of 0.03, suggesting that its share price is 97% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Great Southern Bancorp has a beta of 0.5, suggesting that its share price is 50% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

22.1% of Ohio Valley Banc shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 41.7% of Great Southern Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 7.2% of Ohio Valley Banc shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 29.7% of Great Southern Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for Ohio Valley Banc and Great Southern Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ohio Valley Banc	0	0	1	0	3.00
Great Southern Bancorp	0	2	1	0	2.33

Great Southern Bancorp has a consensus target price of $74.00, suggesting a potential downside of 4.87%. Given Great Southern Bancorp’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Great Southern Bancorp is more favorable than Ohio Valley Banc.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Ohio Valley Banc and Great Southern Bancorp”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ohio Valley Banc	$94.21 million	2.29	$15.60 million	$3.01	15.19
Great Southern Bancorp	$342.78 million	2.47	$70.97 million	$6.02	12.92

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

Dividends

Ohio Valley Banc pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Great Southern Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Ohio Valley Banc pays out 33.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Great Southern Bancorp pays out 28.6% 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. Ohio Valley Banc has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years. Great Southern Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Great Southern Bancorp beats Ohio Valley Banc on 13 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ohio Valley Banc

Ohio Valley Banc Corp. operates as the bank holding company for The Ohio Valley Bank Company that provides commercial and consumer banking products and services. The company operates in two segments, Banking and Consumer Finance. It accepts various deposit products, including checking, savings, time, and money market accounts, as well as individual retirement accounts, demand deposits, NOW accounts, and certificates of deposit. The company also provides various residential real estate loans, including one-to four-family residential mortgages; commercial loans for securing equipment, inventory, stock, commercial real estate, and rental property; and consumer loans secured by automobiles, mobile homes, recreational vehicles, and other personal property, as well as personal loans, unsecured credit card receivables, floor plan and student loans, and construction loans. In addition, it offers safe deposit box, wire transfer, credit card, home equity loans, and Internet banking services; and financial management online services, such as cash management and news updates related to repossession auctions, current rates, and general bank news. Further, the company provides automatic teller machines (ATMs), consumer finance, seasonal tax preparation, commercial property, and various liability insurance services, as well as trust and online-only consumer direct mortgage services. The company owns and operates ATMs, including off-site ATMs. It operates offices in Ohio and West Virginia. The company was founded in 1872 and is based in Gallipolis, Ohio.

About Great Southern Bancorp

Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for Great Southern Bank that provides a range of financial services in the United States. Its deposit products include regular savings accounts, checking accounts, money market accounts, fixed interest rate certificates with varying maturities, certificates of deposit, brokered certificates, and individual retirement accounts. The company's loan portfolio comprises residential and commercial real estate loans, commercial business loans, construction loans, home improvement loans, and unsecured consumer loans, as well as secured consumer loans, such as automobile loans, boat loans, home equity loans, and loans secured by savings deposits. It also provides insurance and merchant banking services. The company was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in Springfield, Missouri.