Camden National (NASDAQ:CAC) vs. S&T Bancorp (NASDAQ:STBA) Head-To-Head Contrast

S&T Bancorp (NASDAQ:STBA) and Camden National (NASDAQ:CAC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, dividends, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Dividends

S&T Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Camden National pays an annual dividend of $1.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. S&T Bancorp pays out 41.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Camden National pays out 43.8% 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. S&T Bancorp has raised its dividend for 13 consecutive years.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

65.2% of S&T Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 77.4% of Camden National shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.2% of S&T Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.1% of Camden National shares are owned 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.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares S&T Bancorp and Camden National”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
S&T Bancorp	$402.12 million	3.96	$134.23 million	$3.50	12.41
Camden National	$373.18 million	2.24	$65.16 million	$3.84	12.80

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for S&T Bancorp and Camden National, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
S&T Bancorp	0	5	2	0	2.29
Camden National	0	4	1	0	2.20

S&T Bancorp currently has a consensus target price of $44.40, suggesting a potential upside of 2.21%. Camden National has a consensus target price of $49.00, suggesting a potential downside of 0.33%. Given S&T Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe S&T Bancorp is more favorable than Camden National.

Risk and Volatility

S&T Bancorp has a beta of 0.86, suggesting that its share price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Camden National has a beta of 0.58, suggesting that its share price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares S&T Bancorp and Camden National’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
S&T Bancorp	23.61%	9.25%	1.37%
Camden National	17.46%	11.22%	1.07%

Summary

S&T Bancorp beats Camden National on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About S&T Bancorp

S&T Bancorp, Inc. is a bank holding company, which engages in the provision of consumer, commercial, and small business banking services. It operates through the following segments: Commercial Real Estate, Commercial and Industrial, Commercial Construction, Business Banking, Consumer Real Estate, and Other Consumer. The Commercial Real Estate segment includes both owner-occupied properties and investment properties for various purposes such as hotels, retail, multifamily and health care. The Commercial and Industrial segment focuses on the companies or manufacturers for the purpose of production, operating capacity, accounts receivable, inventory or equipment financing. The Commercial Construction segment refers to the finance construction of buildings or other structures, as well as to finance the acquisition and development of raw land for various purposes. The Business Banking segment is made to small businesses that are standard, non-complex products evaluated through a streamlined credit approval process that has been designed to maximize efficiency while maintaining high credit quality standards. The Consumer Real Estate segment offers first and second liens such as 1-4 family residential mortgages, home equity loans and home equity lines of credit. The Other Consumer segment consists of individuals that may be secured by assets other than 1-4 family residences, as well as unsecured loans. The company was founded on March 17, 1983 and is headquartered in Indiana, PA.

About Camden National

Camden National Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Camden National Bank that provides various commercial and consumer banking products and services for consumer, institutional, municipal, non-profit, and commercial customers in Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. The company accepts checking, savings, time, and brokered deposits, as well as deposits with the certificate of deposit account registry system. Its loan products include non-owner-occupied commercial estate loans, owner-occupied commercial real estate loans, unsecured fully-guaranteed commercial loans backed by the small business administration, loans secured by one-to four-family properties, and consumer and home equity loans. The company also provides brokerage and insurance services through its financial offerings consisting of college, retirement, estate planning, mutual funds, strategic asset management accounts, and variable and fixed annuities. Further, it offers a range of fiduciary and asset management, wealth management, investment management, financial planning, and trustee services. Camden National Corporation was founded in 1875 and is headquartered in Camden, Maine.