Comparing Suncrest Bank (OTCMKTS:SBKK) & Renasant (NASDAQ:RNST)

Renasant (NASDAQ:RNST) and Suncrest Bank (OTCMKTS:SBKK) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitability, risk, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares Renasant and Suncrest Bank’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Renasant	17.91%	6.58%	0.93%
Suncrest Bank	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Renasant and Suncrest Bank, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Renasant	0	0	6	1	3.14
Suncrest Bank	0	0	0	0	0.00

Renasant currently has a consensus target price of $43.17, suggesting a potential upside of 22.76%. Given Renasant’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Renasant is more favorable than Suncrest Bank.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

77.3% of Renasant shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 5.9% of Suncrest Bank shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.8% of Renasant shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Renasant has a beta of 0.98, suggesting that its share price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Suncrest Bank has a beta of 0.88, suggesting that its share price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Renasant and Suncrest Bank”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Renasant	$874.43 million	3.82	$195.46 million	$1.99	17.67
Suncrest Bank	$46.73 million	4.92	$16.96 million	$1.37	13.56

Renasant has higher revenue and earnings than Suncrest Bank. Suncrest Bank is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Renasant, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Renasant beats Suncrest Bank on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Renasant

Renasant Corporation operates as a bank holding company for Renasant Bank that provides a range of financial, wealth management, fiduciary, and insurance services to retail and commercial customers. The company operates through Community Banks, Insurance, and Wealth Management segments. The Community Banks segment offers checking and savings accounts, business and personal loans, asset-based lending, and factoring equipment leasing services, as well as safe deposit and night depository facilities. It also provides commercial, financial, and agricultural loans; equipment financing and leasing; real estate1-4 family mortgage; real estatecommercial mortgage; real estateconstruction loans for the construction of single family residential properties, multi-family properties, and commercial projects; installment loans to individuals; and interim construction loans, as well as automated teller machine (ATM), online and mobile banking, call center, and treasury management services. The Insurance segment provides insurance agency services, such as commercial and personal insurance products through insurance carriers. The Wealth Management segment offers a range of wealth management and fiduciary services, including administration and management of trust accounts, such as personal and corporate benefit accounts, and custodial accounts, as well as accounting and money management for trust accounts; annuities, mutual funds, and other investment services through a third party broker-dealer; administrative and compliance services; and qualified retirement plans, IRAs, employee benefit plans, personal trusts, and estates. Renasant Corporation was founded in 1904 and is headquartered in Tupelo, Mississippi.

About Suncrest Bank

Suncrest Bank engages in the provision of personal and commercial banking services. It provides checking, savings and certificates of deposits, lending, cash management, online and mobile banking, e-statements, remote deposit capture, financial calculators, and customer service center. It also offers agricultural real estate loans, production finance, equipment financing and leasing, development loans, long-term fixed rate, SBA and USDA loans, valley small business guaranteed loans, USDA B&I loans, farmer mac loans, and cal-cap loans. The company was founded on May 19, 2008 and is headquartered in Visalia, CA.