Head to Head Review: Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) and Southern Missouri Bancorp (NASDAQ:SMBC)

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) and Southern Missouri Bancorp (NASDAQ:SMBC) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, dividends and risk.

Risk and Volatility

Banco Santander has a beta of 0.78, meaning that its share price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Southern Missouri Bancorp has a beta of 0.8, meaning that its share price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

9.2% of Banco Santander shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 49.5% of Southern Missouri Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 9.5% of Banco Santander shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 14.6% of Southern Missouri Bancorp shares are held 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.

Dividends

Banco Santander pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Southern Missouri Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Banco Santander pays out 16.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Southern Missouri Bancorp pays out 15.9% 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. Southern Missouri Bancorp has raised its dividend for 13 consecutive years.

Profitability

This table compares Banco Santander and Southern Missouri Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Banco Santander	26.16%	12.51%	0.74%
Southern Missouri Bancorp	23.47%	12.88%	1.45%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Banco Santander and Southern Missouri Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Banco Santander	1	3	10	1	2.73
Southern Missouri Bancorp	0	5	1	1	2.43

Banco Santander currently has a consensus price target of $15.10, suggesting a potential upside of 24.09%. Southern Missouri Bancorp has a consensus price target of $79.50, suggesting a potential upside of 11.90%. Given Banco Santander’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Banco Santander is more favorable than Southern Missouri Bancorp.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Banco Santander and Southern Missouri Bancorp”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Banco Santander	$63.32 billion	2.82	$15.95 billion	$1.23	9.89
Southern Missouri Bancorp	$204.74 million	3.79	$71.84 million	$6.78	10.48

Banco Santander has higher revenue and earnings than Southern Missouri Bancorp. Banco Santander is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Southern Missouri Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Southern Missouri Bancorp beats Banco Santander on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Banco Santander

Banco Santander is a Spain-based international banking group founded in 1857. Headquartered in Boadilla del Monte, Spain, it provides financial services to individuals, businesses and institutions through its banking and related businesses. The company’s services include retail and commercial banking, consumer finance, corporate and investment banking, payments, and wealth management. Its offerings include deposit accounts, loans, credit cards, and financial advice and investment services. Santander serves customers across Europe and the Americas, with operations in markets including Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States, Brazil and Mexico.

About Southern Missouri Bancorp

Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. is a bank holding company and the parent of Southern Bank, a community bank headquartered in Poplar Bluff, Missouri. The bank’s roots date to 1887, when it was established to serve local customers in southeastern Missouri. Southern Bank provides personal and business banking services, including deposit accounts, commercial and consumer lending, residential mortgage loans, and digital banking. Its lending activities also include financing for agricultural customers.