Comparing Community Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:CTBI) and John Marshall Bancorp (NASDAQ:JMSB)

John Marshall Bancorp (NASDAQ:JMSB) and Community Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:CTBI) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings and risk.

Volatility and Risk

John Marshall Bancorp has a beta of 0.68, suggesting that its share price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Community Trust Bancorp has a beta of 0.58, suggesting that its share price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

John Marshall Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. Community Trust Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $2.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. John Marshall Bancorp pays out 24.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Community Trust Bancorp pays out 39.0% 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. Community Trust Bancorp has raised its dividend for 44 consecutive years. Community Trust Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for John Marshall Bancorp and Community Trust Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
John Marshall Bancorp	0	1	1	0	2.50
Community Trust Bancorp	0	0	3	0	3.00

John Marshall Bancorp presently has a consensus price target of $22.00, indicating a potential upside of 10.00%. Community Trust Bancorp has a consensus price target of $63.50, indicating a potential downside of 0.14%. Given John Marshall Bancorp’s higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe John Marshall Bancorp is more favorable than Community Trust Bancorp.

Profitability

This table compares John Marshall Bancorp and Community Trust Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
John Marshall Bancorp	18.41%	8.31%	0.93%
Community Trust Bancorp	23.95%	12.14%	1.52%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

39.1% of John Marshall Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 60.2% of Community Trust Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 12.1% of John Marshall Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.3% of Community Trust Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares John Marshall Bancorp and Community Trust Bancorp”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
John Marshall Bancorp	$115.33 million	2.46	$21.23 million	$1.50	13.33
Community Trust Bancorp	$409.34 million	2.81	$98.06 million	$5.43	11.71

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

Summary

Community Trust Bancorp beats John Marshall Bancorp on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About John Marshall Bancorp

John Marshall Bancorp, Inc. is the bank holding company for John Marshall Bank. The Bank is headquartered in Reston, Virginia with eight full-service branches located in Alexandria, Arlington, Loudoun, Prince William, Reston, and Tysons, Virginia, as well as Rockville, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. The Bank is dedicated to providing exceptional value, personalized service and convenience to local businesses and professionals in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area. The Bank offers a comprehensive line of sophisticated banking products and services that rival those of the largest banks along with experienced staff to help achieve customers’ financial goals. Dedicated relationship managers serve as direct points-of-contact, providing subject matter expertise in a variety of niche industries including charter and private schools, government contractors, health services, nonprofits and associations, professional services, property management companies and title companies

About Community Trust Bancorp

Community Trust Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Community Trust Bank, Inc. that engages in the provision of commercial and personal banking, and trust and wealth management services to small and mid-sized communities in eastern, northeastern, central, and south-central Kentucky, as well as southern West Virginia, and northeastern Tennessee. The company accepts time and demand deposits, checking accounts, savings accounts and savings certificates, individual retirement accounts and Keogh plans, and money market accounts. Its loan portfolio includes commercial, construction, mortgage, and personal loans; lease-financing, lines of credit, revolving lines of credit, and term loans, as well as other specialized loans, including asset-based financing; residential and commercial real estate loans; and consumer loans. The company also provides cash management, renting safe deposit boxes, and funds transfer services; issues letters of credit; and acts as a trustee of personal trusts, executor of estates, trustee for employee benefit trusts, and paying agent for bond and stock issues, as well as an investment agent and depositor for securities. In addition, it offers securities brokerage services; debit cards; annuity and life insurance products; and repurchase agreements, as well as mobile, internet banking, and e-statement services. The company was founded in 1903 and is headquartered in Pikeville, Kentucky.