Home BancShares (NYSE:HOMB) & Columbia Financial (NASDAQ:CLBK) Financial Comparison
by Renee Jackson · The Cerbat GemColumbia Financial (NASDAQ:CLBK – Get Free Report) and Home BancShares (NYSE:HOMB – Get Free Report) are both mid-cap 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.
Profitability
This table compares Columbia Financial and Home BancShares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Columbia Financial | 8.54% | 7.35% | 0.76% |
| Home BancShares | 32.36% | 11.14% | 2.08% |
Dividends
Columbia Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. Home BancShares pays an annual dividend of $0.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Columbia Financial pays out 69.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Home BancShares pays out 37.7% 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. Home BancShares has increased its dividend for 15 consecutive years. Home BancShares is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Columbia Financial and Home BancShares, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Columbia Financial | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2.75 |
| Home BancShares | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2.50 |
Columbia Financial presently has a consensus target price of $15.10, indicating a potential upside of 35.91%. Home BancShares has a consensus target price of $32.57, indicating a potential upside of 8.95%. Given Columbia Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Columbia Financial is more favorable than Home BancShares.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
12.7% of Columbia Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 67.3% of Home BancShares shares are held by institutional investors. 3.5% of Columbia Financial shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 6.4% of Home BancShares 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.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Columbia Financial and Home BancShares”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Columbia Financial | $508.02 million | 5.89 | $51.77 million | $0.29 | 38.31 |
| Home BancShares | $1.48 billion | 4.05 | $475.44 million | $2.44 | 12.25 |
Home BancShares has higher revenue and earnings than Columbia Financial. Home BancShares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Columbia Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Risk and Volatility
Columbia Financial has a beta of 0.27, indicating that its stock price is 73% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Home BancShares has a beta of 0.73, indicating that its stock price is 27% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Home BancShares beats Columbia Financial on 13 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Columbia Financial
Columbia Financial, Inc., a bank holding company, provides various financial services to businesses and consumers in the United States. Its deposit products include checking, interest-earning checking products and municipal, savings and club deposits, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company also provides various loans, including multifamily and commercial real estate loans, commercial business loans, one-to-four family residential loans, construction loans, home equity loans and advances, and other consumer loans, such as automobiles and personal loans, as well as unsecured and overdraft lines of credit. In addition, it offers title insurance products; wealth management services; and cash management services comprising remote deposit, lockbox service, sweep accounts, and escrow services. The company operates full-service banking offices in New Jersey; and branch offices in Freehold, New Jersey. Columbia Financial, Inc. was founded in 1926 and is based in Fair Lawn, New Jersey. Columbia Financial, Inc. is a subsidiary of Columbia Bank MHC.
About Home BancShares
Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) operates as the bank holding company for Centennial Bank that provides commercial and retail banking, and related financial services to businesses, real estate developers and investors, individuals, and municipalities. Its deposit products include checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company's loan portfolio comprises non-farm/non-residential real estate, construction/land development, residential mortgage, consumer, agricultural, and commercial and industrial loans. It provides internet banking, mobile banking and voice response information, cash management, overdraft protection, direct deposit, and automatic account transfer services, as well as safe deposit boxes and the United States savings bonds. In addition, the company writes policies for commercial and personal lines of business, including insurance for property, casualty, life, health, and employee benefits. It operates through branches in Arkansas, Florida, Alabama, Texas, and New York City. Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Conway, Arkansas.