BBVA Banco Frances (NYSE:BBAR) & Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) Critical Survey

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) and BBVA Banco Frances (NYSE:BBAR) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Lakeland Financial and BBVA Banco Frances’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lakeland Financial	26.51%	15.07%	1.59%
BBVA Banco Frances	4.16%	7.56%	1.10%

Dividends

Lakeland Financial pays an annual dividend of $2.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. BBVA Banco Frances pays an annual dividend of $0.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Lakeland Financial pays out 46.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. BBVA Banco Frances pays out 35.3% 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. Lakeland Financial has increased its dividend for 14 consecutive years. Lakeland Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Lakeland Financial and BBVA Banco Frances”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lakeland Financial	$283.37 million	5.39	$103.36 million	$4.47	13.84
BBVA Banco Frances	$4.96 billion	0.44	$252.12 million	$1.02	10.58

BBVA Banco Frances has higher revenue and earnings than Lakeland Financial. BBVA Banco Frances is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Lakeland Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk & Volatility

Lakeland Financial has a beta of 0.77, suggesting that its stock price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BBVA Banco Frances has a beta of 0.98, suggesting that its stock price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

81.2% of Lakeland Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 3.0% of Lakeland Financial shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Lakeland Financial and BBVA Banco Frances, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lakeland Financial	0	5	0	0	2.00
BBVA Banco Frances	0	3	0	0	2.00

Lakeland Financial currently has a consensus price target of $65.67, suggesting a potential upside of 6.18%. BBVA Banco Frances has a consensus price target of $15.00, suggesting a potential upside of 39.02%. Given BBVA Banco Frances’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe BBVA Banco Frances is more favorable than Lakeland Financial.

Summary

Lakeland Financial beats BBVA Banco Frances on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Lakeland Financial

Lakeland Financial Corporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Warsaw, Indiana, and the parent company of Lake City Bank. The bank traces its history to 1872 and serves individuals, businesses and organizations across northern and central Indiana. Lake City Bank offers personal and business banking services, including deposit accounts, lending, mortgage financing and digital banking. Its business services include commercial loans, treasury management and other cash-management solutions.

About BBVA Banco Frances

BBVA Banco Argentina, formerly known as BBVA Banco Francés, is an Argentine bank and part of the Spanish BBVA Group. Its history dates to the founding of Banco Francés del Río de la Plata in 1886; the bank adopted the BBVA Argentina name in 2019. The bank serves individuals, businesses and institutions across Argentina. Its services include deposit accounts, personal and business loans, credit and debit cards, payment services, and online and mobile banking. BBVA Argentina also provides companies with services such as cash management, trade finance and other business banking solutions.