Critical Comparison: Southside Bancshares (NYSE:SBSI) and Banc of California (NYSE:BANC)

Southside Bancshares (NYSE:SBSI) and Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, valuation, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Volatility and Risk

Southside Bancshares has a beta of 0.68, suggesting that its share price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Banc of California has a beta of 0.75, suggesting that its share price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Southside Bancshares and Banc of California’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Southside Bancshares	15.58%	10.94%	1.07%
Banc of California	11.49%	8.00%	0.70%

Dividends

Southside Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $1.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.0%. Banc of California pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Southside Bancshares pays out 62.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Banc of California pays out 38.5% 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. Southside Bancshares has increased its dividend for 30 consecutive years. Southside Bancshares is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Southside Bancshares and Banc of California, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Southside Bancshares	0	1	0	0	2.00
Banc of California	0	2	8	1	2.91

Banc of California has a consensus target price of $19.25, indicating a potential upside of 13.28%. Given Banc of California’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Banc of California is more favorable than Southside Bancshares.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Southside Bancshares and Banc of California”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Southside Bancshares	$240.20 million	3.60	$88.49 million	$2.30	12.51
Banc of California	$1.07 billion	2.34	$126.89 million	$1.04	16.34

Banc of California has higher revenue and earnings than Southside Bancshares. Southside Bancshares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Banc of California, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

55.7% of Southside Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.9% of Banc of California shares are held by institutional investors. 6.0% of Southside Bancshares shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.7% of Banc of California 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.

Summary

Banc of California beats Southside Bancshares on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Southside Bancshares

Southside Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Southside Bank that provides a range of financial services to individuals, businesses, municipal entities, and nonprofit organizations. Its deposit products include savings, money market, and interest and noninterest bearing checking accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company’s loan portfolio comprises consumer loans that include 1-4 family residential loans, home equity loans, home improvement loans, automobile loans, and other consumer related loans; commercial loans, such as short-term working capital loans for inventory and accounts receivable, short and medium-term loans for equipment or other business capital expansion, commercial real estate loans, and municipal loans; and construction loans for 1-4 family residential and commercial real estate. It also offers wealth management and trust services consisting of investment management, administration, revocable and testamentary trusts, and custodian services for individuals, partnerships, and corporations; safe deposit services; and brokerage services. As of December 31, 2021, the company operated through 56 banking facilities and 73 ATMs/ITMs. Southside Bancshares, Inc. was founded in 1960 and is headquartered in Tyler, Texas.

About Banc of California

Banc of California, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Banc of California that provides various banking products and services in California. The company offers deposit products, such as checking, savings, money market, demand, and time deposits; certificates of deposit; retirement accounts; and safe deposit boxes. It also provides real estate loans to professional developers and real estate investors for the acquisition, construction, refinancing, renovation, and on-going operation of commercial real estate properties; commercial real estate mortgage, residential real estate mortgage, and real estate construction and land loans; commercial loans and leases, such as equipment finance, other asset-based, venture capital, secured business, warehouse, and other lending services; small business administration loans; and consumer loans comprising personal, auto, and other loans, as well as home equity and revolving lines of credit. In addition, the company offers international banking, multi-state deposit, and asset and investment management services, as well as cash and treasury management services; and online, mobile, remote deposit, and telephone banking services. It serves small and middle-market businesses, venture capital firms, non-profit organizations, business owners, entrepreneurs, professionals, and high-net worth individuals. Banc of California, Inc. was founded in 1941 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.