Bar Harbor Bankshares (NYSE:BHB – Get Free Report) and Live Oak Bancshares (NYSE:LOB – Get Free Report) are both small-cap financial services companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, dividends and analyst recommendations.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
54.5% of Bar Harbor Bankshares shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 64.0% of Live Oak Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. 2.6% of Bar Harbor Bankshares shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 23.4% of Live Oak Bancshares shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Bar Harbor Bankshares and Live Oak Bancshares, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Bar Harbor Bankshares | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.00 |
| Live Oak Bancshares | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
Dividends
Bar Harbor Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $1.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. Live Oak Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.3%. Bar Harbor Bankshares pays out 49.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Live Oak Bancshares pays out 9.8% 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. Bar Harbor Bankshares has increased its dividend for 22 consecutive years. Bar Harbor Bankshares is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Volatility & Risk
Bar Harbor Bankshares has a beta of 0.69, indicating that its stock price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Live Oak Bancshares has a beta of 1.82, indicating that its stock price is 82% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Bar Harbor Bankshares and Live Oak Bancshares”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Bar Harbor Bankshares | $147.73 million | 3.61 | $43.04 million | $2.58 | 12.38 |
| Live Oak Bancshares | $516.93 million | 3.34 | $77.47 million | $1.22 | 30.92 |
Live Oak Bancshares has higher revenue and earnings than Bar Harbor Bankshares. Bar Harbor Bankshares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Live Oak Bancshares, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares Bar Harbor Bankshares and Live Oak Bancshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Bar Harbor Bankshares | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Live Oak Bancshares | 5.71% | 5.46% | 0.42% |
Summary
Live Oak Bancshares beats Bar Harbor Bankshares on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Bar Harbor Bankshares
Bar Harbor Bankshares operates as the holding company for Bar Harbor Bank & Trust that provides commercial, lending, retail, and wealth management banking services. It accepts various deposit products, including interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing demand accounts, savings accounts, time deposits, and money market deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company also provides commercial real estate loans, such as multi-family, commercial construction and land development, and other commercial real estate classes; commercial and industrial loans, including loans to commercial and agricultural businesses, and tax exempt entities; residential real estate loans consists of mortgages for 1-4 family housing; and consumer loans comprises home equity loans, lines of credit, auto, and other installment lending. In addition, it provides life insurance, annuity, and retirement products, as well as financial planning services; and third-party investment and insurance services. Further, the company offers trust and estate administration, wealth advisory, and investment management services to individuals, businesses, not-for-profit organizations, and municipalities; and 401K plan, financial, estate and charitable planning, investment management, family office, municipal, and tax services. It operates 53 locations across Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The company was founded in 1887 and is based in Bar Harbor, Maine.
About Live Oak Bancshares
Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Live Oak Banking Company that provides various commercial banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, and professionals in North Carolina, the United States. The company accepts various deposit products, including noninterest-bearing demand, as well as interest-bearing checking, money market, savings, and time deposits. It also offers commercial and industrial loans; construction and development loans; owner occupied and non-owner occupied collateral commercial real estate loans; and commercial land loans. In addition, the company provides settlement, accounting, and securitization services for government guaranteed loans; wealth and investment management services to high-net-worth individuals and families; investment advisory services to a series of funds focused on providing venture capital to new and emerging financial technology companies; and an on-site restaurant location to company employees and business visitors. Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. was incorporated in 2008 and is headquartered in Wilmington, North Carolina.
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