Comparing SB Financial Group (NASDAQ:SBFG) and LINKBANCORP (NASDAQ:LNKB)

SB Financial Group (NASDAQ:SBFG) and LINKBANCORP (NASDAQ:LNKB) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, institutional ownership, profitability and valuation.

Dividends

SB Financial Group pays an annual dividend of $0.62 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. LINKBANCORP pays an annual dividend of $0.30 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. SB Financial Group pays out 28.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. LINKBANCORP pays out 33.3% 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. SB Financial Group has increased its dividend for 12 consecutive years.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

66.7% of SB Financial Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 37.5% of LINKBANCORP shares are held by institutional investors. 5.7% of SB Financial Group shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 37.5% of LINKBANCORP shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares SB Financial Group and LINKBANCORP’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SB Financial Group	15.35%	10.88%	0.98%
LINKBANCORP	17.97%	8.85%	0.90%

Risk and Volatility

SB Financial Group has a beta of 0.24, indicating that its share price is 76% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, LINKBANCORP has a beta of 0.4, indicating that its share price is 60% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for SB Financial Group and LINKBANCORP, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SB Financial Group	0	1	1	0	2.50
LINKBANCORP	0	3	1	0	2.25

LINKBANCORP has a consensus price target of $9.63, indicating a potential upside of 13.64%. Given LINKBANCORP’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe LINKBANCORP is more favorable than SB Financial Group.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares SB Financial Group and LINKBANCORP”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
SB Financial Group	$65.56 million	1.94	$13.97 million	$2.20	9.16
LINKBANCORP	$186.50 million	1.70	$33.51 million	$0.90	9.41

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

About SB Financial Group

SB Financial Group, Inc. operates as the financial holding company for the State Bank and Trust Company that provides a range of commercial banking and wealth management services to individual and corporate customers primarily in Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan. It offers checking, savings, money market accounts, as well as time certificates of deposit; and commercial, consumer, agricultural, and residential mortgage loans. The company also provides automatic teller machine, personal and corporate trust, commercial leasing, bank credit card, safe deposit box rental, internet banking, private client group, and other personalized banking products and services; and various trust and financial services comprising asset management services for individuals and corporate employee benefit plans, as well as brokerage services. In addition, it sells insurance products to retail and commercial customers. The company was formerly known as Rurban Financial Corp. and changed its name to SB Financial Group, Inc. in April 2013. SB Financial Group, Inc. was founded in 1902 and is based in Defiance, Ohio.

About LINKBANCORP

LINKBANCORP, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for The Gratz Bank, that provides various banking products and services to individuals, families, nonprofit, and business customers in Pennsylvania. Its deposit products include demand, saving, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposits. The company also offers commercial real estate, commercial business, commercial real estate construction, land development, residential real estate, home equity, consumer, agricultural, and municipal loans. It also provides online banking, mobile banking, direct and remote deposit, and cash management services. The company was incorporated in 2018 and is headquartered in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania.