Auburn National Bancorporation (NASDAQ:AUBN) and Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) Head-To-Head Comparison

Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) and Auburn National Bancorporation (NASDAQ:AUBN) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Dividends

Provident Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Auburn National Bancorporation pays an annual dividend of $1.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. Provident Financial pays out 54.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Auburn National Bancorporation pays out 44.8% 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. Auburn National Bancorporation is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Volatility & Risk

Provident Financial has a beta of 0.32, suggesting that its stock price is 68% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Auburn National Bancorporation has a beta of 0.43, suggesting that its stock price is 57% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Provident Financial and Auburn National Bancorporation”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Provident Financial	$59.62 million	1.91	$6.66 million	$1.03	17.72
Auburn National Bancorporation	$43.89 million	2.12	$7.26 million	$2.41	11.08

Auburn National Bancorporation has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Provident Financial. Auburn National Bancorporation is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Provident Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

71.3% of Provident Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 39.5% of Auburn National Bancorporation shares are owned by institutional investors. 11.5% of Provident Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 18.7% of Auburn National Bancorporation shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Provident Financial and Auburn National Bancorporation’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Provident Financial	11.16%	5.23%	0.54%
Auburn National Bancorporation	18.60%	9.10%	0.81%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Provident Financial and Auburn National Bancorporation, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Provident Financial	0	1	1	1	3.00
Auburn National Bancorporation	0	1	0	0	2.00

Provident Financial presently has a consensus target price of $18.00, indicating a potential downside of 1.37%. Given Provident Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Provident Financial is more favorable than Auburn National Bancorporation.

Summary

Auburn National Bancorporation beats Provident Financial on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Provident Financial

Provident Financial Holdings, Inc. operates as the holding company for Provident Savings Bank, F.S.B. that provides community banking services to consumers and small to mid-sized businesses in the Inland Empire region of Southern California. The company's deposit products include checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as time deposits; and loan portfolio consists of single-family, multi-family, commercial real estate, construction, mortgage, commercial business, and consumer loans. It also offers investment services comprising the sale of investment products, such as annuities and mutual funds; and trustee services for real estate transactions. The company operates through full-service banking offices in Riverside County and San Bernardino County. Provident Financial Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1956 and is headquartered in Riverside, California.

About Auburn National Bancorporation

Auburn National Bancorporation, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for AuburnBank that provides various banking products and services in East Alabama. The company offers checking, savings, and transaction deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. It also provides commercial, financial, agricultural, real estate construction, and consumer loan products; and other financial services. In addition, the company offers automated teller services; debit cards; online banking, bill payment, and other electronic banking services; and safe deposit boxes. Auburn National Bancorporation, Inc. was founded in 1907 and is headquartered in Auburn, Alabama.