Auburn National Bancorporation (NASDAQ:AUBN) versus South Atlantic Bancshares (OTCMKTS:SABK) Financial Comparison

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

Profitability

This table compares Auburn National Bancorporation and South Atlantic Bancshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Auburn National Bancorporation	17.79%	8.78%	0.78%
South Atlantic Bancshares	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Auburn National Bancorporation and South Atlantic Bancshares, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Auburn National Bancorporation	0	1	0	0	2.00
South Atlantic Bancshares	0	1	0	0	2.00

Institutional & Insider Ownership

39.5% of Auburn National Bancorporation shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 13.3% of South Atlantic Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. 18.7% of Auburn National Bancorporation shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Auburn National Bancorporation and South Atlantic Bancshares”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Auburn National Bancorporation	$43.89 million	1.89	$7.26 million	$2.27	10.49
South Atlantic Bancshares	$102.25 million	1.74	$17.08 million	$2.25	10.39

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

Dividends

Auburn National Bancorporation pays an annual dividend of $1.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.5%. South Atlantic Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. Auburn National Bancorporation pays out 47.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. South Atlantic Bancshares pays out 4.4% 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.

Risk and Volatility

Auburn National Bancorporation has a beta of 0.42, suggesting that its stock price is 58% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, South Atlantic Bancshares has a beta of 0.1, suggesting that its stock price is 90% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Auburn National Bancorporation beats South Atlantic Bancshares on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About South Atlantic Bancshares

South Atlantic Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for South Atlantic Bank that provides consumer and commercial banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, and corporations in South Carolina. The company offers checking, money market, and saving accounts, as well as certificate of deposit, individual retirement, and health saving accounts; personal, auto, and recreation loans, as well as home equity and ready reserve overdraft line of credits, and commercial lending products; and credit cards. It also provides cash management and merchant card services; remote deposit capture and automated clearing house services; online, mobile, and telephone banking services; personal and business checks; mortgage products and services; and wealth management services. The company operates offices in Myrtle Beach, Carolina Forest, North Myrtle Beach, Murrells Inlet, Pawleys Island, Georgetown, Mount Pleasant, Charleston, Bluffton, Hilton Head Island, and Beaufort, South Carolina. South Atlantic Bancshares, Inc. was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.