Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) & Northeast Bancorp (NASDAQ:NBN) Financial Analysis

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

Dividends

Northeast Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.0%. Great Southern Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. Northeast Bancorp pays out 0.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Great Southern Bancorp pays out 27.3% 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.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Northeast Bancorp	25.96%	18.63%	2.13%
Great Southern Bancorp	21.33%	11.29%	1.25%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

41.7% of Great Southern Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 14.2% of Northeast Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 29.8% of Great Southern Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Northeast Bancorp and Great Southern Bancorp”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Northeast Bancorp	$351.00 million	2.96	$83.44 million	$11.67	10.84
Great Southern Bancorp	$342.78 million	2.36	$70.97 million	$6.31	11.76

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Northeast Bancorp and Great Southern Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Northeast Bancorp	0	1	2	0	2.67
Great Southern Bancorp	0	2	1	0	2.33

Northeast Bancorp currently has a consensus target price of $130.50, indicating a potential upside of 3.17%. Great Southern Bancorp has a consensus target price of $65.00, indicating a potential downside of 12.43%. Given Northeast Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Northeast Bancorp is more favorable than Great Southern Bancorp.

Risk and Volatility

Northeast Bancorp has a beta of 0.58, suggesting that its share price is 42% 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.

Summary

Northeast Bancorp beats Great Southern Bancorp on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Northeast Bancorp

Northeast Bank provides banking services to individual and corporate customers in Maine. The company's deposit products include demand deposit, NOW, money market, savings, certificate of deposit, and individual retirement accounts, as well as checking accounts. Its loan portfolio comprises residential mortgage loans; multi-family and other commercial real estate loans; commercial and industrial loans, such as term loans, lines of credit and equipment, and receivables financing; consumer loans comprising mobile home and overdraft, and deposit-secured loans; and small business administration loans. In addition, the company offers telephone banking, online banking and bill payment, mobile banking, cash management, and remote deposit capture services, as well as debit and credit card, ATM, electronic transfer, and check services. Further, it provides various services, such as money market, merchant, and payroll and HR. Northeast Bank was founded in 1872 and is headquartered in Portland, Maine.

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.