Reviewing Pinnacle Financial Partners (NYSE:PNFP) & F.N.B. (NYSE:FNB)

F.N.B. (NYSE:FNB) and Pinnacle Financial Partners (NYSE:PNFP) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk and valuation.

Volatility and Risk

F.N.B. has a beta of 0.9, suggesting that its share price is 10% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Pinnacle Financial Partners has a beta of 1.02, suggesting that its share price is 2% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

F.N.B. pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Pinnacle Financial Partners pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. F.N.B. pays out 30.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Pinnacle Financial Partners pays out 24.7% 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. Pinnacle Financial Partners has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Profitability

This table compares F.N.B. and Pinnacle Financial Partners’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
F.N.B.	20.98%	8.76%	1.16%
Pinnacle Financial Partners	19.41%	10.10%	1.19%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares F.N.B. and Pinnacle Financial Partners”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
F.N.B.	$2.69 billion	2.10	$565.00 million	$1.56	10.16
Pinnacle Financial Partners	$3.32 billion	1.94	$641.86 million	$8.09	10.24

Pinnacle Financial Partners has higher revenue and earnings than F.N.B.. F.N.B. is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Pinnacle Financial Partners, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

79.3% of F.N.B. shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.4% of Pinnacle Financial Partners shares are held by institutional investors. 1.4% of F.N.B. shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.5% of Pinnacle Financial Partners shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for F.N.B. and Pinnacle Financial Partners, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
F.N.B.	0	0	6	0	3.00
Pinnacle Financial Partners	0	8	10	1	2.63

F.N.B. presently has a consensus price target of $19.60, suggesting a potential upside of 23.70%. Pinnacle Financial Partners has a consensus price target of $113.41, suggesting a potential upside of 36.92%. Given Pinnacle Financial Partners’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Pinnacle Financial Partners is more favorable than F.N.B..

Summary

Pinnacle Financial Partners beats F.N.B. on 14 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About F.N.B.

F.N.B. Corporation, a bank and financial holding company, provides a range of financial products and services primarily to consumers, corporations, governments, and small- to medium-sized businesses in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Community Banking, Wealth Management, and Insurance. The Community Banking segment offers commercial and consumer banking services, including corporate and small business banking, investment real estate financing, business credit, capital market, and lease financing services. It also provides consumer banking products and services, such as deposit products, mortgage and consumer lending services, and mobile and online banking services. The Wealth Management segment provides personal and corporate fiduciary services comprising administration of decedent and trust estates; and securities brokerage and investment advisory services, mutual funds, and annuities. The Insurance segment comprises commercial and personal insurance, and reinsurance products, as well as mezzanine financing options for small- to medium-sized businesses. The company operates community banking branches in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Washington, D.C., and Virginia. F.N.B. Corporation was founded in 1864 and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

About Pinnacle Financial Partners

Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Pinnacle Bank that provides various banking products and services to individuals, businesses, and professional entities in the United States. It accepts various deposits, including savings, noninterest-bearing and interest-bearing checking, money market, and certificate of deposit accounts; and provides treasury management services, such as online wire origination, enhanced ACH origination, positive pay, zero balance and sweep accounts, automated bill pay services, electronic receivables processing, lockbox processing, and merchant card acceptance services, small business and commercial credit cards corporate purchasing cards, and virtual accounting/deposit escrow solutions. The company also offers equipment and working capital loan; commercial real estate loans, such as investment properties and business loan; secured and unsecured loans comprising installment and term, lines of credit, and residential first mortgage, as well as home equity loans and home equity lines of credit; and credit cards for consumers and businesses. In addition, the company provides investment products; brokerage and investment advisory programs; and fiduciary and investment services, including personal trust, investment management, estate administration, endowments, foundations, individual retirement accounts, escrow services, and custody. Further, it offers insurance agency services in the property and casualty area; investment, merger and acquisition advisory services, private debt, equity and mezzanine, and other middle-market advisory services; and other banking services, including telephone and online banking, mobile banking, debit cards, direct deposit and remote deposit capture, mobile deposit option, automated teller machine, and cash management services. Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. was incorporated in 2000 and is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee.