Head-To-Head Survey: Stock Yards Bancorp (NASDAQ:SYBT) and Itaú Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB)

Stock Yards Bancorp (NASDAQ:SYBT) and Itaú Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability and earnings.

Dividends

Stock Yards Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Itaú Unibanco pays an annual dividend of $0.03 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. Stock Yards Bancorp pays out 34.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Itaú Unibanco pays out 4.1% 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. Stock Yards Bancorp has increased its dividend for 14 consecutive years. Stock Yards Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Stock Yards Bancorp and Itaú Unibanco’s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Stock Yards Bancorp	$332.53 million	5.33	$107.75 million	$3.56	16.93
Itaú Unibanco	$155.66 billion	0.42	$6.63 billion	$0.74	9.05

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

56.5% of Stock Yards Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.9% of Stock Yards Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of Itaú Unibanco shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Stock Yards Bancorp and Itaú Unibanco, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Stock Yards Bancorp	0	2	2	0	2.50
Itaú Unibanco	0	3	2	0	2.40

Stock Yards Bancorp currently has a consensus price target of $62.50, indicating a potential upside of 3.70%. Itaú Unibanco has a consensus price target of $7.05, indicating a potential upside of 5.22%. Given Itaú Unibanco’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Itaú Unibanco is more favorable than Stock Yards Bancorp.

Volatility & Risk

Stock Yards Bancorp has a beta of 0.83, indicating that its stock price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Itaú Unibanco has a beta of 0.97, indicating that its stock price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Stock Yards Bancorp and Itaú Unibanco’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Stock Yards Bancorp	21.99%	12.18%	1.29%
Itaú Unibanco	11.09%	18.73%	1.44%

Summary

Stock Yards Bancorp beats Itaú Unibanco on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Stock Yards Bancorp

Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc. operates as a holding company for Stock Yards Bank & Trust Company that provides various financial services for individuals, corporations, and others in the United States. It operates in two segments, Commercial Banking, and WM&T. The Commercial Banking segment offers a range of loan and deposit products to individual consumers and businesses in all its markets through retail lending, mortgage banking, deposit services, online banking, mobile banking, private banking, commercial lending, commercial real estate lending, leasing, treasury management services, merchant services, international banking, correspondent banking, and other banking services. This segment also provides securities brokerage services through an arrangement with a third party broker-dealer. The WM&T segment provides investment management, financial and retirement planning, and trust and estate services, as well as retirement plan management for businesses and corporations. It provides services in Louisville, central, eastern, and northern Kentucky, as well as Indianapolis, Indiana and Cincinnati, Ohio metropolitan markets. The company was founded in 1904 and is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky.

About Itaú Unibanco

Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. offers a range of financial products and services to individuals and corporate customers in Brazil and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Retail Banking, Wholesale Banking, and Activities with the Market + Corporation. It offers current account; loans; credit and debit cards; investment and commercial banking services; real estate lending services; financing and investment services; economic, financial and brokerage advisory; and leasing and foreign exchange services. The company also provides property and casualty insurance products covering loss, damage, or liabilities for assets or persons, as well as life insurance products covering death and personal accident. It serves retail customers, account and non-account holders, individuals and legal entities, high income clients, microenterprises, and small companies, as well as middle-market companies and high net worth clients. The company was formerly known as Itaú Unibanco Banco Múltiplo S.A. and changed its name to Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. in April 2009. The company was incorporated in 1924 and is headquartered in São Paulo, Brazil. Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. operates as a subsidiary of IUPAR – Itaú Unibanco Participações S.A.