Analyzing Trustmark (NASDAQ:TRMK) & Republic Bancorp (NASDAQ:RBCAA)

Trustmark (NASDAQ:TRMK) and Republic Bancorp (NASDAQ:RBCAA) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, earnings, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Dividends

Trustmark pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Republic Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Trustmark pays out 27.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Republic Bancorp pays out 28.2% 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. Trustmark has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Republic Bancorp has increased its dividend for 27 consecutive years. Republic Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

67.6% of Trustmark shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 24.4% of Republic Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.5% of Trustmark shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 56.4% of Republic Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Trustmark and Republic Bancorp”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Trustmark	$949.48 million	2.59	$223.01 million	$3.56	11.43
Republic Bancorp	$505.64 million	2.89	$101.37 million	$6.38	11.72

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Trustmark and Republic Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Trustmark	0	3	2	0	2.40
Republic Bancorp	0	2	0	0	2.00

Trustmark presently has a consensus price target of $41.00, indicating a potential upside of 0.76%. Republic Bancorp has a consensus price target of $69.00, indicating a potential downside of 7.74%. Given Trustmark’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Trustmark is more favorable than Republic Bancorp.

Volatility & Risk

Trustmark has a beta of 0.71, suggesting that its share price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Republic Bancorp has a beta of 0.58, suggesting that its share price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Trustmark and Republic Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Trustmark	19.21%	10.81%	1.18%
Republic Bancorp	23.98%	12.23%	1.80%

Summary

Republic Bancorp beats Trustmark on 9 of the 17 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 Republic Bancorp

Republic Bancorp, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for Republic Bank & Trust Company that provides various banking products and services in the United States. It operates in six segments: Traditional Banking, Warehouse, Mortgage Banking, Tax Refund Solutions, Republic Payment Solutions, and Republic Credit Solutions. The company offers demand, money market accounts, savings, individual retirement accounts, time, brokered, and other certificates of deposit; and retail and commercial mortgage, construction and land development, consumer, aircraft, and marine loans. It also provides credit cards; title insurance and other financial products and services; and private banking, lockbox processing, remote deposit capture, business online banking, account reconciliation, automated clearing house processing, and internet and mobile banking services. In addition, it offers short-term and revolving credit facilities to mortgage bankers through mortgage warehouse lines of credit; mortgage banking; tax refund solutions, which facilitate the receipt and payment of federal and state tax refund products through third-party tax preparers and tax-preparation software providers; payments-related products and services to consumers through third party service providers; and consumer credit products. The company offers its services through full-services banking centers in Kentucky, Indiana, Florida, Ohio, and Tennessee. Republic Bancorp, Inc. was incorporated in 1974 and is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky.