Analyzing S&T Bancorp (NASDAQ:STBA) and Kentucky First Federal Bancorp (NASDAQ:KFFB)

S&T Bancorp (NASDAQ:STBA) and Kentucky First Federal Bancorp (NASDAQ:KFFB) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, institutional ownership, profitability and dividends.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for S&T Bancorp and Kentucky First Federal Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
S&T Bancorp	0	6	2	0	2.25
Kentucky First Federal Bancorp	0	1	0	0	2.00

S&T Bancorp currently has a consensus price target of $51.60, suggesting a potential upside of 6.33%. Given S&T Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe S&T Bancorp is more favorable than Kentucky First Federal Bancorp.

Risk & Volatility

S&T Bancorp has a beta of 0.85, indicating that its share price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Kentucky First Federal Bancorp has a beta of 0.14, indicating that its share price is 86% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares S&T Bancorp and Kentucky First Federal Bancorp”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
S&T Bancorp	$568.51 million	3.01	$134.23 million	$3.76	12.91
Kentucky First Federal Bancorp	$21.42 million	2.04	$1.91 million	$0.23	23.52

S&T Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Kentucky First Federal Bancorp. S&T Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Kentucky First Federal Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares S&T Bancorp and Kentucky First Federal Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
S&T Bancorp	24.51%	9.74%	1.42%
Kentucky First Federal Bancorp	8.91%	3.86%	0.52%

Dividends

S&T Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Kentucky First Federal Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. S&T Bancorp pays out 39.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Kentucky First Federal Bancorp pays out 87.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. S&T Bancorp has raised its dividend for 13 consecutive years.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

65.2% of S&T Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 3.2% of Kentucky First Federal Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.2% of S&T Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.9% of Kentucky First Federal Bancorp shares are owned by 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.

Summary

S&T Bancorp beats Kentucky First Federal Bancorp on 14 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About S&T Bancorp

S&T Bancorp, Inc. is a bank holding company, which engages in the provision of consumer, commercial, and small business banking services. It operates through the following segments: Commercial Real Estate, Commercial and Industrial, Commercial Construction, Business Banking, Consumer Real Estate, and Other Consumer. The Commercial Real Estate segment includes both owner-occupied properties and investment properties for various purposes such as hotels, retail, multifamily and health care. The Commercial and Industrial segment focuses on the companies or manufacturers for the purpose of production, operating capacity, accounts receivable, inventory or equipment financing. The Commercial Construction segment refers to the finance construction of buildings or other structures, as well as to finance the acquisition and development of raw land for various purposes. The Business Banking segment is made to small businesses that are standard, non-complex products evaluated through a streamlined credit approval process that has been designed to maximize efficiency while maintaining high credit quality standards. The Consumer Real Estate segment offers first and second liens such as 1-4 family residential mortgages, home equity loans and home equity lines of credit. The Other Consumer segment consists of individuals that may be secured by assets other than 1-4 family residences, as well as unsecured loans. The company was founded on March 17, 1983 and is headquartered in Indiana, PA.

About Kentucky First Federal Bancorp

Kentucky First Federal Bancorp operates as the holding company for First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Hazard, and Frankfort First Bancorp, Inc. that provide various banking products and services in Kentucky. It accepts deposit products include passbook savings and certificate accounts, checking accounts, and individual retirement accounts. The company's loan portfolio comprises one-to four-family residential mortgage loans; construction loans; mortgage loans secured by multi-family property; nonresidential loans that are secured by commercial office buildings, churches, and properties used for other purposes; commercial non-mortgage loans; and consumer loans, such as home equity lines of credit, loans secured by savings deposits, automobile loans, and unsecured or personal loans. It also invests in mortgage-backed securities. The company was incorporated in 2005 and is based in Hazard, Kentucky. Kentucky First Federal Bancorp is a subsidiary of First Federal MHC.