SouthState (NASDAQ:SSB) and Colony Bankcorp (NASDAQ:CBAN) Head-To-Head Contrast

SouthState (NASDAQ:SSB) and Colony Bankcorp (NASDAQ:CBAN) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares SouthState and Colony Bankcorp”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
SouthState	$2.12 billion	4.70	$534.78 million	$6.71	14.67
Colony Bankcorp	$121.88 million	2.41	$23.87 million	$1.58	10.64

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for SouthState and Colony Bankcorp, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SouthState	0	1	10	2	3.08
Colony Bankcorp	0	0	1	0	3.00

SouthState presently has a consensus price target of $117.08, indicating a potential upside of 18.95%. Colony Bankcorp has a consensus price target of $21.00, indicating a potential upside of 24.87%. Given Colony Bankcorp’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Colony Bankcorp is more favorable than SouthState.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

89.8% of SouthState shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 50.4% of Colony Bankcorp shares are held by institutional investors. 1.7% of SouthState shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 6.6% of Colony Bankcorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares SouthState and Colony Bankcorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SouthState	22.38%	9.62%	1.21%
Colony Bankcorp	13.51%	9.64%	0.85%

Volatility and Risk

SouthState has a beta of 0.74, meaning that its stock price is 26% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Colony Bankcorp has a beta of 0.67, meaning that its stock price is 33% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

SouthState pays an annual dividend of $2.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Colony Bankcorp pays an annual dividend of $0.46 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. SouthState pays out 35.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Colony Bankcorp pays out 29.1% 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. SouthState has increased its dividend for 13 consecutive years and Colony Bankcorp has increased its dividend for 7 consecutive years. Colony Bankcorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

SouthState beats Colony Bankcorp on 13 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About SouthState

SouthState Corporation operates as the bank holding company for SouthState Bank, National Association that provides a range of banking services and products to individuals and companies. It offers checking accounts, savings deposits, interest-bearing transaction accounts, certificates of deposits, money market accounts, and other time deposits, as well as bond accounting, asset/liability consulting related activities, and other clearing and corporate checking account services. The company also offers commercial real estate loans, residential real estate loans, commercial, and industrial loans, as well as consumer loans, including auto, boat, and personal installment, as well as business, agriculture, real estate-secured (mortgage), home improvement, and manufactured housing loans. In addition, it provides debit card, mobile services, funds transfer products and services, and treasury management services comprising merchant, automated clearing house, lock-box, remote deposit capture, and other treasury services, as well as asset and wealth management, and other fiduciary and private banking services. Further, the company offers safe deposit boxes, bank money orders, wire transfer, brokerage services, and alternative investment products, including annuities, mutual funds, and trust management services; and credit cards, letters of credit, and home equity lines of credit. The company also serves its customers through online, mobile, and telephone banking platforms. The company was formerly known as First Financial Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to SouthState Corporation in July 2013. SouthState Corporation was founded in 1933 and is headquartered in Winter Haven, Florida.

About Colony Bankcorp

Colony Bankcorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Colony Bank that provides various banking products and services to commercial and consumer customers. The company offers deposit products, including demand, savings, and time deposits. It also provides loans to small and medium-sized businesses; residential and commercial construction, and land development loans; commercial real estate loans; commercial loans; agri-business and production loans; residential mortgage loans; home equity loans; and consumer loans. In addition, the company offers internet banking services, electronic bill payment services, safe deposit box rentals, telephone banking, credit and debit card services, and remote depository products, as well as access to a network of ATMs. The company was founded in 1975 and is headquartered in Fitzgerald, Georgia.