CNB Financial (NASDAQ:CCNE) vs. Meridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK) Financial Contrast

Meridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK) and CNB Financial (NASDAQ:CCNE) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, profitability and risk.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Meridian Bank and CNB Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Meridian Bank	0	0	3	0	3.00
CNB Financial	0	2	1	1	2.75

Meridian Bank currently has a consensus price target of $22.00, indicating a potential upside of 10.22%. CNB Financial has a consensus price target of $32.00, indicating a potential upside of 8.25%. Given Meridian Bank’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Meridian Bank is more favorable than CNB Financial.

Dividends

Meridian Bank pays an annual dividend of $0.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. CNB Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Meridian Bank pays out 29.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. CNB Financial pays out 29.6% 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. CNB Financial has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

58.6% of Meridian Bank shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 52.4% of CNB Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 14.4% of Meridian Bank shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.8% of CNB Financial shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

Meridian Bank has a beta of 0.8, suggesting that its stock price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CNB Financial has a beta of 0.73, suggesting that its stock price is 27% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Meridian Bank and CNB Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Meridian Bank	10.63%	12.14%	0.86%
CNB Financial	15.29%	11.83%	1.10%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Meridian Bank and CNB Financial”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Meridian Bank	$205.49 million	1.12	$21.84 million	$1.89	10.56
CNB Financial	$432.51 million	2.01	$66.13 million	$2.43	12.16

CNB Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Meridian Bank. Meridian Bank is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than CNB Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

CNB Financial beats Meridian Bank on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Meridian Bank

Meridian Corporation operates as the holding company for Meridian Bank that provides commercial banking products and services in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Florida, and Maryland. The company offers various deposit products, such as demand non-interest bearing, demand interest bearing, savings accounts, money market accounts, and time deposits. It also provides commercial and industrial loans comprising business lines of credit, term loans, small business lending, lease financing, shared national credits, and other financing; commercial real estate, and land development and construction loans for residential and commercial projects; and consumer and home equity lending, private banking, merchant, and title and land settlement services. In addition, the company operates and originates mortgage loans for 1-4 family dwellings; and offers real estate holding, investment advisory, and equipment leasing services, as well as financial planning and wealth management services. Meridian Corporation was incorporated in 2004 and is headquartered in Malvern, Pennsylvania.

About CNB Financial

CNB Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for CNB Bank that provides a range of banking products and services for individual, business, governmental, and institutional customers. The company accepts checking, savings, and time deposit accounts; and offers real estate, commercial, industrial, residential, and consumer loans, as well as various other specialized financial services. It also provides private banking; and wealth and asset management services, including the administration of trusts and estates, retirement plans, and other employee benefit plans, as well as a range of wealth management services. In addition, the company invests in debt and equity securities; sells nonproprietary annuities and other insurance products; and offers small balance unsecured loans and secured loans primarily collateralized by automobiles and equipment, as well as engages in consumer discount loan and finance business. The company was founded in 1865 and is headquartered in Clearfield, Pennsylvania.