Head-To-Head Survey: Trustmark (NASDAQ:TRMK) vs. Kentucky Bancshares (OTCMKTS:KTYB)

Trustmark (NASDAQ:TRMK) and Kentucky Bancshares (OTCMKTS:KTYB) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation, earnings, dividends and profitability.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Trustmark and Kentucky Bancshares”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Trustmark	$1.12 billion	2.27	$224.13 million	$3.78	11.50
Kentucky Bancshares	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Trustmark has higher revenue and earnings than Kentucky Bancshares.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

67.6% of Trustmark shares are held by institutional investors. 1.7% of Trustmark shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 15.0% of Kentucky Bancshares shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Trustmark and Kentucky Bancshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Trustmark	20.12%	10.74%	1.20%
Kentucky Bancshares	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for Trustmark and Kentucky Bancshares, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Trustmark	0	5	2	0	2.29
Kentucky Bancshares	0	0	0	0	0.00

Trustmark presently has a consensus price target of $44.75, suggesting a potential upside of 2.97%. Given Trustmark’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Trustmark is more favorable than Kentucky Bancshares.

Summary

Trustmark beats Kentucky Bancshares on 8 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Trustmark

Trustmark Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Trustmark National Bank that provides banking and other financial solutions to individuals and corporate institutions in the United States. The company operates through three segments: General Banking, Wealth Management, and Insurance. It offers checking, savings, and money market accounts; certificates of deposits and individual retirement accounts; financing for commercial and industrial projects, income-producing commercial real estate, owner-occupied real estate, and construction and land development; and installment and real estate loans, and lines of credit, as well as treasury management services. The company also provides mortgage banking services, including construction financing, production of conventional and government-insured mortgages, and secondary marketing and mortgage servicing. In addition, it provides wealth management and trust services, such as administration of personal trusts and estates; management of investment accounts for individuals, employee benefit plans, and charitable foundations; and corporate trust and institutional custody, securities brokerage, financial and estate planning, retirement plan, and investment management services. Further, the company offers business insurance products and services for medical professionals, construction, manufacturing, hospitality, real estate, and group life and health plans; and life and health insurance, and personal line policies for individual customers. Trustmark Corporation was founded in 1889 and is headquartered in Jackson, Mississippi.

About Kentucky Bancshares

Kentucky Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Kentucky Bank that provides commercial and consumer banking products and services. It accepts various deposit products, including checking, savings, and money market accounts; and certificates of deposit, safe deposits, interest and noninterest bearing deposits, and time deposits. The company also offers commercial, agricultural, and real estate loans to small-to-medium-sized industrial, service, and agricultural businesses; and residential mortgages, installments, and other loans to individual and other non-commercial customers. In addition, it provides credit cards and other consumer-oriented financial services; brokerage services, annuities, life and long-term care insurance, personal trust, and agency services; and Internet banking services, such as bill payment. The company has operations in Bourbon, Clark, Elliott, Fayette, Harrison, Jessamine, Madison, Rowan, Scott, Woodford, and other counties in Kentucky. Kentucky Bancshares, Inc. was founded in 1851 and is headquartered in Paris, Kentucky.