Analyzing Origin Bancorp (NYSE:OBK) and SouthState Bank (NYSE:SSB)

Origin Bancorp (NYSE:OBK) and SouthState Bank (NYSE:SSB) are both financial services companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, profitability, valuation and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Origin Bancorp and SouthState Bank’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Origin Bancorp	11.98%	5.98%	0.72%
SouthState Bank	19.27%	10.23%	1.34%

Risk and Volatility

Origin Bancorp has a beta of 0.79, indicating that its stock price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SouthState Bank has a beta of 0.68, indicating that its stock price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Origin Bancorp and SouthState Bank, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Origin Bancorp	0	1	5	0	2.83
SouthState Bank	0	2	10	3	3.07

Origin Bancorp presently has a consensus target price of $43.20, suggesting a potential upside of 27.93%. SouthState Bank has a consensus target price of $117.08, suggesting a potential upside of 21.02%. Given Origin Bancorp’s higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Origin Bancorp is more favorable than SouthState Bank.

Dividends

Origin Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. SouthState Bank pays an annual dividend of $2.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Origin Bancorp pays out 26.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. SouthState Bank pays out 35.8% 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. SouthState Bank has raised its dividend for 13 consecutive years. SouthState Bank is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Origin Bancorp and SouthState Bank”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Origin Bancorp	$619.96 million	1.70	$76.49 million	$2.24	15.08
SouthState Bank	$2.44 billion	4.01	$534.78 million	$6.71	14.42

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

54.7% of Origin Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.8% of SouthState Bank shares are held by institutional investors. 6.4% of Origin Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.7% of SouthState Bank shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

SouthState Bank beats Origin Bancorp on 13 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Origin Bancorp

Origin Bancorp, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for Origin Bank that provides banking and financial services to small and medium-sized businesses, municipalities, high net worth individuals, and retail clients in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. It offers noninterest and interest-bearing checking accounts, savings deposits, money market accounts, and time deposits; and offers commercial real estate, construction and land development, consumer, residential real estate, commercial and industrial, mortgage warehouse, residential mortgage, and paycheck protection program loans. The company also offers personal and commercial property, and casualty insurance products; and Internet banking and voice response information, mobile applications, cash management, overdraft protection, direct deposit, safe deposit box, U.S. savings bonds, and automatic account transfer services; and treasury management, mortgage origination and servicing facilities, peer-to-peer electronic pay solutions, and personal financial management solutions. As of December 31, 2021, it operated 44 banking centers. The company was founded in 1912 and is headquartered in Ruston, Louisiana.

About SouthState Bank

SouthState Corporation operates as the bank holding company for SouthState Bank, National Association that provides a range of banking services and products to individuals and companies. It accepts checking accounts, savings deposits, interest-bearing transaction accounts, certificates of deposits, money market accounts, and other time deposits. The company also offers commercial real estate loans, residential real estate loans, commercial, and industrial loans, as well as consumer loans, including auto, boat, and personal installment loans. In addition, it provides debit card, mobile and funds transfer products, and treasury management services comprising merchant, automated clearing house, lock-box, remote deposit capture, and other treasury services. Further, the company offers safe deposit boxes, bank money orders, wire transfer, brokerage services, and alternative investment products, including annuities, mutual funds, and trust and asset management services; and credit cards, letters of credit, and home equity lines of credit. As of December 31, 2021, it served customers through 281 branches in Florida, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia. SouthState Corporation also serves its customers through online, mobile, and telephone banking platforms. The company was formerly known as First Financial Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to SouthState Corporation in July 2013. SouthState Corporation was founded in 1933 and is headquartered in Winter Haven, Florida.