BOK Financial (NASDAQ:BOKF) versus National Bankshares (NASDAQ:NKSH) Critical Comparison

National Bankshares (NASDAQ:NKSH) and BOK Financial (NASDAQ:BOKF) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, valuation and dividends.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares National Bankshares and BOK Financial”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
National Bankshares	$85.32 million	3.06	$15.83 million	$3.35	12.23
BOK Financial	$3.38 billion	2.38	$577.99 million	$11.03	12.01

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

Risk and Volatility

National Bankshares has a beta of 0.62, indicating that its stock price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BOK Financial has a beta of 0.78, indicating that its stock price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

29.7% of National Bankshares shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 34.4% of BOK Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 3.3% of National Bankshares shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 63.5% of BOK Financial shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares National Bankshares and BOK Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
National Bankshares	24.08%	11.09%	1.14%
BOK Financial	19.53%	10.41%	1.18%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for National Bankshares and BOK Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
National Bankshares	0	1	1	0	2.50
BOK Financial	1	10	2	0	2.08

BOK Financial has a consensus price target of $143.27, indicating a potential upside of 8.12%. Given BOK Financial’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe BOK Financial is more favorable than National Bankshares.

Dividends

National Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $1.50 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. BOK Financial pays an annual dividend of $2.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. National Bankshares pays out 44.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. BOK Financial pays out 22.8% 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. BOK Financial has raised its dividend for 20 consecutive years.

Summary

BOK Financial beats National Bankshares on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About National Bankshares

National Bankshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for the National Bank of Blacksburg that provides retail and commercial banking products and services to individuals, businesses, non-profits, and local governments. The company accepts interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing demand deposit accounts, money market deposit accounts, savings accounts, certificates of deposit, health savings accounts, and individual retirement accounts. Its loan products include commercial and agricultural, commercial real estate, residential real estate, home equity, and various consumer loan products, as well as loans for the construction of commercial and residential properties. The company also provides business and consumer debit and credit cards; letters of credit, night depository services, safe deposit boxes, utility payment services, and automatic funds transfer; wealth management, trust, and estate services; non-deposit investment and insurance products; and telephone, mobile, and Internet banking services. The company was founded in 1891 and is headquartered in Blacksburg, Virginia.

About BOK Financial

BOK Financial Corporation operates as the financial holding company for BOKF, NA that provides various financial products and services in Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Northwest Arkansas, Colorado, Arizona, and Kansas/Missouri. It operates through three segments: Commercial Banking, Consumer Banking, and Wealth Management. The Commercial Banking segment offers lending, treasury, cash management, and customer commodity risk management products for small businesses, middle market, and larger commercial customers, as well as operates TransFund electronic funds transfer network. The Consumer Banking segment engages in the provision of retail lending and deposit services to small business customers through retail branch network; and mortgage loan origination and servicing activities. The Wealth Management segment offers fiduciary, private bank, insurance, and investment advisory services; and brokerage and trading services primarily related to providing liquidity to the mortgage markets through trading of U.S. government agency mortgage-backed securities and related derivative contracts, as well as underwrites state and municipal securities. The company also provides commercial loans, such as loans for working capital, facilities acquisition or expansion, purchases of equipment, and other needs of commercial customers; and service, healthcare, manufacturing, wholesale/retail, energy, and other sector loans. In addition, it offers commercial real estate loans for the construction of buildings or other improvements to real estate and property held by borrowers for investment purposes; residential mortgage and personal loans; and automated teller machine, call center, and Internet and mobile banking services. The company was founded in 1910 and is headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma.