Live Oak Bancshares (NASDAQ:LOB) and CNB Financial (NASDAQ:CCNE) Head to Head Analysis

Live Oak Bancshares (NASDAQ:LOB) and CNB Financial (NASDAQ:CCNE) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, valuation and profitability.

Volatility and Risk

Live Oak Bancshares has a beta of 1.75, indicating that its stock price is 75% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CNB Financial has a beta of 0.53, indicating that its stock price is 47% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Live Oak Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. CNB Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Live Oak Bancshares pays out 8.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. CNB Financial pays out 30.9% 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.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

64.0% of Live Oak Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 52.3% of CNB Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 23.4% of Live Oak Bancshares shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.9% of CNB Financial shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Live Oak Bancshares and CNB Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Live Oak Bancshares	7.10%	6.88%	0.55%
CNB Financial	14.97%	10.24%	0.92%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Live Oak Bancshares and CNB Financial”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Live Oak Bancshares	$492.82 million	2.24	$77.47 million	$1.45	16.68
CNB Financial	$222.01 million	2.02	$54.58 million	$2.33	9.17

Live Oak Bancshares has higher revenue and earnings than CNB Financial. CNB Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Live Oak Bancshares, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Live Oak Bancshares and CNB Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Live Oak Bancshares	0	2	2	0	2.50
CNB Financial	0	1	1	0	2.50

Live Oak Bancshares presently has a consensus price target of $44.75, indicating a potential upside of 85.07%. CNB Financial has a consensus price target of $25.75, indicating a potential upside of 20.50%. Given Live Oak Bancshares’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Live Oak Bancshares is more favorable than CNB Financial.

Summary

Live Oak Bancshares beats CNB Financial on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Live Oak Bancshares

Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Live Oak Banking Company that provides various banking products and services in the United States. It operates through two segments, Banking and Fintech. The company accepts various deposit products, including noninterest-bearing demand, as well as interest-bearing checking, money market, savings, and time deposits. It also offers commercial and industrial loans; construction and development loans; owner occupied and non-owner occupied collateral commercial real estate loans; and commercial land loans. In addition, the company provides settlement, accounting, and securitization services for government guaranteed loans; financing for renewable energy application industry; wealth and investment management services to high-net-worth individuals and families; and investment advisory services to a series of funds focused on providing venture capital to new and emerging financial technology companies. Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. was incorporated in 2008 and is headquartered in Wilmington, North Carolina.

About CNB Financial

CNB Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for CNB Bank that provides a range of banking products and services for individual, business, governmental, and institutional customers. The company accepts checking, savings, and time deposit accounts; and offers real estate, commercial, industrial, residential, and consumer loans, as well as various other specialized financial services. It also provides private banking; and wealth and asset management services, including the administration of trusts and estates, retirement plans, and other employee benefit plans, as well as a range of wealth management services. In addition, the company invests in debt and equity securities; sells nonproprietary annuities and other insurance products; and offers small balance unsecured loans and secured loans primarily collateralized by automobiles and equipment, as well as engages in consumer discount loan and finance business. The company was founded in 1865 and is headquartered in Clearfield, Pennsylvania.