Financial Review: Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) and GrandSouth Bancorporation (OTCMKTS:GRRB)

GrandSouth Bancorporation (OTCMKTS:GRRB) and Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, earnings and profitability.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

57.1% of Hilltop shares are owned by institutional investors. 33.3% of GrandSouth Bancorporation shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.4% of Hilltop shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares GrandSouth Bancorporation and Hilltop”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
GrandSouth Bancorporation	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Hilltop	$1.63 billion	1.39	$165.59 million	$2.70	14.26

Hilltop has higher revenue and earnings than GrandSouth Bancorporation.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for GrandSouth Bancorporation and Hilltop, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
GrandSouth Bancorporation	0	0	0	0	0.00
Hilltop	0	2	1	1	2.75

Hilltop has a consensus target price of $37.50, suggesting a potential downside of 2.62%. Given Hilltop’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Hilltop is more favorable than GrandSouth Bancorporation.

Profitability

This table compares GrandSouth Bancorporation and Hilltop’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
GrandSouth Bancorporation	N/A	N/A	N/A
Hilltop	10.17%	7.40%	1.02%

Summary

Hilltop beats GrandSouth Bancorporation on 9 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About GrandSouth Bancorporation

GrandSouth Bancorporation operates as the bank holding company for GrandSouth Bank that provides banking services to individuals and businesses. It accepts checking accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, various term certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts. The company also offers one-to-four family residential, commercial real estate, home equity and lines of credit, residential construction and other construction and land, and commercial loans; and consumer loans comprising loans secured by personal property, such as automobiles, marketable securities, and boats and motorcycles, as well as unsecured consumer debt. In addition, it invests in investment securities, as well as provides specialty floor plan lending to small auto dealerships under the CarBucks trade name. The company operates through eight branches across South Carolina. GrandSouth Bancorporation was founded in 1998 and is based in Greenville, South Carolina.

About Hilltop

Hilltop Holdings Inc. provides business and consumer banking services. It operates through three segments: Banking, Broker-Dealer, and Mortgage Origination. The Banking segment offers savings, checking, interest-bearing checking, and money market accounts; certificates of deposit; lines and letters of credit, home improvement and equity loans, loans for purchasing and carrying securities, term, agricultural and commercial real estate, equipment loans, and other lending products; and mortgage, commercial and industrial loans, and term and construction finance. It also provides treasury management, asset management, check cards, safe deposit boxes, online banking, bill pay, and overdraft privilege services; and estate planning, management and administration, investment portfolio management, employee benefit accounts, and individual retirement accounts services, as well as automated teller machines. The Broker-Dealer segment offers public finance services that assist public entities in originating, syndicating, and distributing securities of municipalities and political subdivisions; specialized advisory and investment banking services; advice and guidance to arbitrage rebate compliance, portfolio management, and local government investment pool administration; advisory services and products for derivatives and commodities; agricultural insurance; and sells, trades in, and underwrites U.S. government and government agency bonds, corporate bonds, and municipal bonds; mortgage-backed, asset-backed, and commercial mortgage-backed securities and structured products; and provides asset and liability management advisory, clearing, retail, and securities lending services. The Mortgage Origination segment offers fixed and adjustable rate mortgages, jumbo, new construction, Federal Housing Administration, Veterans Affairs, and United States Department of Agriculture loans. Hilltop Holdings Inc. was incorporated in 1998 and is based in Dallas, Texas.