Analyzing ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) and TrustCo Bank Corp NY (NASDAQ:TRST)

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) and TrustCo Bank Corp NY (NASDAQ:TRST) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation and dividends.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

67.3% of ServisFirst Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 68.6% of TrustCo Bank Corp NY shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.5% of ServisFirst Bancshares shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.4% of TrustCo Bank Corp NY shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

ServisFirst Bancshares has a beta of 0.91, suggesting that its stock price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, TrustCo Bank Corp NY has a beta of 0.65, suggesting that its stock price is 35% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares ServisFirst Bancshares and TrustCo Bank Corp NY”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ServisFirst Bancshares	$1.02 billion	4.35	$276.60 million	$3.13	12.95
TrustCo Bank Corp NY	$201.07 million	4.82	$61.14 million	$3.76	15.12

ServisFirst Bancshares has higher revenue and earnings than TrustCo Bank Corp NY. ServisFirst Bancshares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than TrustCo Bank Corp NY, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

ServisFirst Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. TrustCo Bank Corp NY pays an annual dividend of $1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. ServisFirst Bancshares pays out 24.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. TrustCo Bank Corp NY pays out 42.6% 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. ServisFirst Bancshares has raised its dividend for 10 consecutive years.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for ServisFirst Bancshares and TrustCo Bank Corp NY, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ServisFirst Bancshares	1	0	4	0	2.60
TrustCo Bank Corp NY	0	0	1	0	3.00

ServisFirst Bancshares currently has a consensus price target of $46.50, suggesting a potential upside of 14.76%. Given ServisFirst Bancshares’ higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe ServisFirst Bancshares is more favorable than TrustCo Bank Corp NY.

Profitability

This table compares ServisFirst Bancshares and TrustCo Bank Corp NY’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ServisFirst Bancshares	32.53%	17.66%	1.89%
TrustCo Bank Corp NY	22.83%	10.00%	1.02%

Summary

ServisFirst Bancshares beats TrustCo Bank Corp NY on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ServisFirst Bancshares

ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for ServisFirst Bank that provides various banking services to individual and corporate customers. It accepts demand, time, savings, and other deposits; checking, money market, and IRA accounts; and certificates of deposit. The company's loan products include commercial lending products, including seasonal, bridge, and term loans for working capital, expansion of the business, acquisition of property, and plant and equipment, as well as commercial lines of credit; commercial real estate loans, construction and development loans, and residential real estate loans; and consumer loans, such as home equity loans, vehicle financing, loans secured by deposits, and secured and unsecured personal loans. It also offers other banking products and services comprising telephone and mobile banking, Internet banking, direct deposit, traveler's checks, safe deposit boxes, attorney trust accounts, automatic account transfers, automated teller machines, and debit and credit card systems; treasury and cash management services; wire transfer, night depository, banking-by-mail, and remote capture services; and correspondent banking services to other financial institutions. In addition, the company holds and manages participations in residential mortgages and commercial real estate loans originated by ServisFirst Bank in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee. The company was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama.

About TrustCo Bank Corp NY

TrustCo Bank Corp NY operates as the holding company for Trustco Bank, a federal savings bank that provides personal and business banking services to individuals and businesses. The company accepts deposits; and offers loans and investments. It also operates as a real estate investment trust that acquires, holds, and manages real estate mortgage assets, including residential mortgage loans and mortgage-backed securities. In addition, the company serves as the executor of estates and trustee of personal trusts; provides asset and wealth management, estate planning and related advice, and custodial services; and acts as trustee for various types of employee benefit plans, and corporate pension and profit-sharing trusts. It operates through banking offices in Albany, Columbia, Dutchess, Greene, Montgomery, Orange, Putnam, Rensselaer, Rockland, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Ulster, Warren, Washington, and Westchester counties of New York; Brevard, Charlotte, Flagler, Hillsborough, Indian River, Lake, Manatee, Martin, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Polk, Sarasota, Seminole, and Volusia counties in Florida; Bennington County in Vermont; Berkshire County in Massachusetts; and Bergen County in New Jersey, as well as automatic teller machines. The company was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Glenville, New York.