Head to Head Survey: CoastalSouth Bancshares (NYSE:COSO) vs. Bar Harbor Bankshares (NYSE:BHB)

CoastalSouth Bancshares (NYSE:COSO) and Bar Harbor Bankshares (NYSE:BHB) are both small-cap financial services companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, profitability, risk, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

54.5% of Bar Harbor Bankshares shares are held by institutional investors. 2.6% of Bar Harbor Bankshares shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for CoastalSouth Bancshares and Bar Harbor Bankshares, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
CoastalSouth Bancshares	0	1	2	0	2.67
Bar Harbor Bankshares	0	2	1	0	2.33

CoastalSouth Bancshares currently has a consensus price target of $29.00, indicating a potential upside of 17.65%. Bar Harbor Bankshares has a consensus price target of $34.50, indicating a potential upside of 6.94%. Given CoastalSouth Bancshares’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe CoastalSouth Bancshares is more favorable than Bar Harbor Bankshares.

Profitability

This table compares CoastalSouth Bancshares and Bar Harbor Bankshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
CoastalSouth Bancshares	N/A	N/A	N/A
Bar Harbor Bankshares	N/A	N/A	N/A

Dividends

CoastalSouth Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Bar Harbor Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $1.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. CoastalSouth Bancshares pays out 11.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Bar Harbor Bankshares pays out 55.7% 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. Bar Harbor Bankshares has increased its dividend for 22 consecutive years. Bar Harbor Bankshares is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares CoastalSouth Bancshares and Bar Harbor Bankshares”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
CoastalSouth Bancshares	$135.78 million	2.17	$24.89 million	$1.69	14.59
Bar Harbor Bankshares	$168.93 million	3.19	$38.38 million	$2.30	14.03

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

Summary

Bar Harbor Bankshares beats CoastalSouth Bancshares on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About CoastalSouth Bancshares

CoastalSouth Bancshares, Inc. is a bank holding company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Through our wholly owned subsidiary, Coastal States Bank, a South Carolina state-chartered commercial bank, we offer a full range of banking products and services designed for businesses, real estate professionals, and consumers looking for a deep and meaningful relationship with their bank. Today, we have a community banking presence in some of the fastest growing and most business-friendly markets in the U.S., namely the Lowcountry of South Carolina (Hilton Head Island, Bluffton, and Beaufort), nearby Savannah, Georgia, and the Atlanta, Georgia market. — In addition to our traditional community banking operations, we operate four specialty lines of business that provide scalability and diversification: • Senior Housing Lending – focuses on lending to operators across the spectrum of senior care, with an emphasis on assisted living; • Marine Lending – focuses on consumer loans primarily to high-net-worth borrowers secured by yachts and high-end sport fishing vessels; • Government Guaranteed Lending – focuses on origination of small business and other loans guaranteed by the SBA and USDA; and • Mortgage Banker Finance – focuses on mortgage warehouse lending to mortgage originators. By combining the relationship-based focus of a community bank with our specialty lines of business, we believe we can capitalize on the substantial growth opportunities available in our markets, particularly given the scarcity of community banks between $1.5 billion and $5.0 billion in total assets. Our principal executive offices are located in Atlanta, Georgia.

About Bar Harbor Bankshares

Bar Harbor Bankshares operates as the holding company for Bar Harbor Bank & Trust that provides commercial, lending, retail, and wealth management banking services. It accepts various deposit products, including interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing demand accounts, savings accounts, time deposits, and money market deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company also provides commercial real estate loans, such as multi-family, commercial construction and land development, and other commercial real estate classes; commercial and industrial loans, including loans to commercial and agricultural businesses, and tax exempt entities; residential real estate loans consists of mortgages for 1-4 family housing; and consumer loans comprises home equity loans, lines of credit, auto, and other installment lending. In addition, it provides life insurance, annuity, and retirement products, as well as financial planning services; and third-party investment and insurance services. Further, the company offers trust and estate administration, wealth advisory, and investment management services to individuals, businesses, not-for-profit organizations, and municipalities; and 401K plan, financial, estate and charitable planning, investment management, family office, municipal, and tax services. It operates 53 locations across Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The company was founded in 1887 and is based in Bar Harbor, Maine.