Critical Analysis: ACNB (NASDAQ:ACNB) and Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF)

ACNB (NASDAQ:ACNB) and Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, risk, institutional ownership, profitability and valuation.

Risk and Volatility

ACNB has a beta of 0.65, indicating that its stock price is 35% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida has a beta of 1.08, indicating that its stock price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares ACNB and Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ACNB	24.09%	10.91%	1.31%
Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida	14.95%	5.91%	0.85%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares ACNB and Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ACNB	$108.34 million	3.23	$31.85 million	$3.73	10.97
Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida	$515.40 million	4.69	$120.99 million	$1.43	19.78

Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida has higher revenue and earnings than ACNB. ACNB is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

ACNB pays an annual dividend of $1.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. ACNB pays out 34.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida pays out 50.3% 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. ACNB is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

32.3% of ACNB shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 81.8% of Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida shares are held by institutional investors. 3.6% of ACNB shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.5% of Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for ACNB and Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ACNB	0	1	2	0	2.67
Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida	0	3	2	0	2.40

ACNB presently has a consensus target price of $45.00, indicating a potential upside of 10.00%. Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida has a consensus target price of $29.40, indicating a potential upside of 3.96%. Given ACNB’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe ACNB is more favorable than Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida.

Summary

ACNB beats Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ACNB

ACNB Corporation, a financial holding company, offers banking, insurance, and financial services to individual, business, and government customers in the United States. The company provides checking, savings, and money market deposit accounts, as well as time deposits and debit cards. It also offers commercial lending products, such as commercial mortgages, real estate development and construction loans, accounts receivable and inventory financing, and agricultural and governmental loans; consumer lending products, including home equity loans and lines of credit, automobile and recreational vehicle loans, manufactured housing loans, and personal lines of credit; and mortgage lending programs include personal residential mortgages, and residential construction and investment mortgage loans. In addition, the company provides other services that are related to testamentary trusts, life insurance trusts, charitable remainder trusts, guardianships, powers of attorney, custodial accounts, and investment management and advisory accounts; and retail brokerage services. Further, it acts as a trustee to invest in, protect, manage, and distribute financial assets. Additionally, the company offers property and casualty, health, life, and disability insurance products to commercial and personal clients; and online, telephone, and mobile banking, as well as automated teller machine services. ACNB Corporation was founded in 1857 and is headquartered in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

About Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida

Seacoast Banking Corp. of Florida is a financial holding company, which engages in the provision of integrated financial services. It provides banking and investment services to businesses and consumers, including personal and business deposit products, Internet and mobile banking, personal, commercial and mortgage loans, wealth management services, and treasury management solutions. The company was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Stuart, FL.