Sierra Bancorp (BSRR) Competitors

Community Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:CTBI) and Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, media sentiment, valuation, profitability and institutional ownership.

Which has more risk & volatility, CTBI or BSRR?

Community Trust Bancorp has a beta of 0.62, meaning that its share price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sierra Bancorp has a beta of 0.79, meaning that its share price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has preferable valuation and earnings, CTBI or BSRR?

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

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Community Trust Bancorp	$264.82M	4.01	$82.81M	$5.08	11.54
Sierra Bancorp	$139.71M	3.01	$40.56M	$2.89	10.71

Is CTBI or BSRR a better dividend stock?

Community Trust Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $2.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. Sierra Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Community Trust Bancorp pays out 41.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Sierra Bancorp pays out 34.6% 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. Community Trust Bancorp has raised its dividend for 44 consecutive years and Sierra Bancorp has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Community Trust Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Does the media refer more to CTBI or BSRR?

In the previous week, Community Trust Bancorp had 7 more articles in the media than Sierra Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 8 mentions for Community Trust Bancorp and 1 mentions for Sierra Bancorp. Community Trust Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 1.05 beat Sierra Bancorp's score of 0.50 indicating that Community Trust Bancorp is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Community Trust Bancorp	5 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Sierra Bancorp	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts rate CTBI or BSRR?

Community Trust Bancorp currently has a consensus target price of $64.50, suggesting a potential upside of 9.99%. Sierra Bancorp has a consensus target price of $33.50, suggesting a potential upside of 8.27%. Given Community Trust Bancorp's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Community Trust Bancorp is more favorable than Sierra Bancorp.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Community Trust Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
Sierra Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in CTBI or BSRR?

60.2% of Community Trust Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 55.4% of Sierra Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 4.3% of Community Trust Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 11.9% of Sierra Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is CTBI or BSRR more profitable?

Community Trust Bancorp has a net margin of 23.33% compared to Sierra Bancorp's net margin of 20.09%. Community Trust Bancorp's return on equity of 11.77% beat Sierra Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Community Trust Bancorp	23.33%	11.77%	1.47%
Sierra Bancorp	20.09%	11.44%	1.11%

Summary

Community Trust Bancorp beats Sierra Bancorp on 16 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.