Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) and Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) Head-To-Head Analysis

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) and Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Volatility & Risk

Hilltop has a beta of 1, suggesting that its stock price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.Comparatively, Great Southern Bancorp has a beta of 0.5, suggesting that its stock price is 50% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Hilltop and Great Southern Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hilltop	7.04%	5.18%	0.71%
Great Southern Bancorp	17.40%	10.62%	1.04%

Dividends

Hilltop pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Great Southern Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Hilltop pays out 41.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Great Southern Bancorp pays out 30.4% 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. Great Southern Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

57.1% of Hilltop shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 41.7% of Great Southern Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 29.3% of Hilltop shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 27.6% of Great Southern Bancorp shares are owned 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.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Hilltop and Great Southern Bancorp”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hilltop	$1.12 billion	1.61	$113.21 million	$1.74	16.05
Great Southern Bancorp	$219.71 million	2.67	$61.81 million	$5.26	9.61

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Hilltop and Great Southern Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hilltop	0	3	0	0	2.00
Great Southern Bancorp	0	1	0	0	2.00

Hilltop presently has a consensus target price of $34.00, indicating a potential upside of 21.72%. Great Southern Bancorp has a consensus target price of $64.00, indicating a potential upside of 26.58%. Given Great Southern Bancorp’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Great Southern Bancorp is more favorable than Hilltop.

Summary

Great Southern Bancorp beats Hilltop on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Hilltop

Hilltop Holdings Inc. provides business and consumer banking services. It operates through three segments: Banking, Broker-Dealer, and Mortgage Origination. The Banking segment offers savings, checking, interest-bearing checking, and money market accounts; certificates of deposit; lines and letters of credit, home improvement and equity loans, loans for purchasing and carrying securities, term, agricultural and commercial real estate, equipment loans, and other lending products; and mortgage, commercial and industrial loans, and term and construction finance. It also provides treasury management, asset management, check cards, safe deposit boxes, online banking, bill pay, and overdraft privilege services; and estate planning, management and administration, investment portfolio management, employee benefit accounts, and individual retirement accounts services, as well as automated teller machines. The Broker-Dealer segment offers public finance services that assist public entities in originating, syndicating, and distributing securities of municipalities and political subdivisions; specialized advisory and investment banking services; advice and guidance to arbitrage rebate compliance, portfolio management, and local government investment pool administration; advisory services and products for derivatives and commodities; agricultural insurance; and sells, trades in, and underwrites U.S. government and government agency bonds, corporate bonds, and municipal bonds; mortgage-backed, asset-backed, and commercial mortgage-backed securities and structured products; and provides asset and liability management advisory, clearing, retail, and securities lending services. The Mortgage Origination segment offers fixed and adjustable rate mortgages, jumbo, new construction, Federal Housing Administration, Veterans Affairs, and United States Department of Agriculture loans. Hilltop Holdings Inc. was incorporated in 1998 and is based in Dallas, Texas.

About Great Southern Bancorp

Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for Great Southern Bank that provides a range of financial services in the United States. Its deposit products include regular savings accounts, checking accounts, money market accounts, fixed interest rate certificates with varying maturities, certificates of deposit, brokered certificates, and individual retirement accounts. The company's loan portfolio comprises residential and commercial real estate loans, commercial business loans, construction loans, home improvement loans, and unsecured consumer loans, as well as secured consumer loans, such as automobile loans, boat loans, home equity loans, and loans secured by savings deposits. It also provides insurance and merchant banking services. The company was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in Springfield, Missouri.