South Plains Financial (SPFI) Competitors

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

Is SPFI or CTBI a better dividend stock?

South Plains Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. Community Trust Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $2.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. South Plains Financial pays out 20.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Community Trust Bancorp pays out 41.7% 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. South Plains Financial has raised its dividend for 5 consecutive years and Community Trust Bancorp has raised its dividend for 44 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 favor SPFI or CTBI?

In the previous week, South Plains Financial and South Plains Financial both had 1 articles in the media. Community Trust Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 1.75 beat South Plains Financial's score of 1.04 indicating that Community Trust Bancorp is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
South Plains Financial	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Community Trust Bancorp	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive

Is SPFI or CTBI more profitable?

Community Trust Bancorp has a net margin of 23.33% compared to South Plains Financial's net margin of 18.59%. South Plains Financial's return on equity of 12.36% beat Community Trust Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
South Plains Financial	18.59%	12.36%	1.26%
Community Trust Bancorp	23.33%	11.92%	1.49%

Which has better earnings and valuation, SPFI or CTBI?

Community Trust Bancorp has lower revenue, but higher earnings than South Plains Financial. Community Trust Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than South Plains Financial, 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
South Plains Financial	$288.97M	2.02	$49.72M	$3.20	11.25
Community Trust Bancorp	$264.82M	3.63	$82.81M	$5.08	10.45

Which has more risk & volatility, SPFI or CTBI?

South Plains Financial has a beta of 0.72, meaning that its share price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Community Trust Bancorp has a beta of 0.58, meaning that its share price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts recommend SPFI or CTBI?

South Plains Financial presently has a consensus price target of $44.67, suggesting a potential upside of 24.04%. Community Trust Bancorp has a consensus price target of $59.50, suggesting a potential upside of 12.03%. Given South Plains Financial's higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe South Plains Financial is more favorable than Community Trust Bancorp.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
South Plains Financial	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
Community Trust Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in SPFI or CTBI?

55.0% of South Plains Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 60.2% of Community Trust Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 24.6% of South Plains Financial shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.3% of Community Trust Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Community Trust Bancorp beats South Plains Financial on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.