Reviewing Hingham Institution for Savings (NASDAQ:HIFS) and Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK)

Hingham Institution for Savings (NASDAQ:HIFS) and Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, risk, valuation and earnings.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Hingham Institution for Savings and Bank OZK”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hingham Institution for Savings	$217.38 million	N/A	$28.19 million	$15.34	18.10
Bank OZK	$2.77 billion	2.14	$716.46 million	$6.16	8.48

Bank OZK has higher revenue and earnings than Hingham Institution for Savings. Bank OZK is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Hingham Institution for Savings, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Hingham Institution for Savings and Bank OZK, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hingham Institution for Savings	0	0	0	0	0.00
Bank OZK	0	5	3	0	2.38

Bank OZK has a consensus price target of $54.25, indicating a potential upside of 3.89%. Given Bank OZK’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Bank OZK is more favorable than Hingham Institution for Savings.

Profitability

This table compares Hingham Institution for Savings and Bank OZK’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hingham Institution for Savings	15.53%	4.99%	0.48%
Bank OZK	25.83%	13.24%	1.84%

Risk & Volatility

Hingham Institution for Savings has a beta of 0.92, meaning that its share price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bank OZK has a beta of 0.86, meaning that its share price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

49.3% of Hingham Institution for Savings shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.2% of Bank OZK shares are held by institutional investors. 6.7% of Bank OZK shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Hingham Institution for Savings pays an annual dividend of $2.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Bank OZK pays an annual dividend of $1.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Hingham Institution for Savings pays out 16.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Bank OZK pays out 28.6% 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. Bank OZK has raised its dividend for 29 consecutive years. Bank OZK is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Bank OZK beats Hingham Institution for Savings on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Hingham Institution for Savings

Hingham Institution for Savings provides various financial products and services to individuals and small businesses in the United States. It offers savings, checking, money market, demand, and negotiable order of withdrawal accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company provides commercial and residential real estate, construction, home equity, commercial, consumer, and mortgage loans. In addition, it offers ATMs, debit cards, and Internet-based banking services. The company offers its services through a network of offices in Boston; Washington, D.C.; and San Francisco Bay Area. Hingham Institution for Savings was incorporated in 1834 and is headquartered in Hingham, Massachusetts.

About Bank OZK

Bank OZK provides various retail and commercial banking services for individuals and businesses in the United States. The company offers deposit services, including non-interest bearing checking, interest bearing transaction, business sweep, savings, money market, individual retirement, and other accounts, as well as time and reciprocal deposits. It also provides trust and wealth services, such as personal trusts, custodial accounts, investment management accounts, and retirement accounts, as well as corporate trust services, including trustee, paying agent and registered transfer agent services, and other related services. In addition, the company offers treasury management services comprising automated clearing house, wire transfer, transaction reporting, wholesale lockbox, remote deposit capture, automated credit line transfer, reconciliation, positive pay, commercial card, and other services, as well as zero balance and investment sweep accounts. Further, it provides real estate, consumer, small business, indirect recreational vehicle and marine, equipment, agricultural, commercial and industrial, government guaranteed, lines of credit, homebuilder, and affordable housing loans; lender and structured, business aviation, and subscription financing services; and mortgage and other lending products. Additionally, the company offers ATMs; telephone, online, and mobile banking services; credit and debit cards; safe deposit boxes; and other products and services. The company was formerly known as Bank of the Ozarks and changed its name to Bank OZK in July 2018. Bank OZK was founded in 1903 and is headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas.