Parke Bancorp (NASDAQ:PKBK) & CNB Financial (NASDAQ:CCNE) Critical Comparison

Parke Bancorp (NASDAQ:PKBK) and CNB Financial (NASDAQ:CCNE) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, profitability, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

49.7% of Parke Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 52.3% of CNB Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 12.9% of Parke Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.8% of CNB Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Parke Bancorp and CNB Financial”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Parke Bancorp	$129.41 million	2.02	$27.51 million	$2.84	7.77
CNB Financial	$231.04 million	3.16	$54.58 million	$2.38	10.39

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

Dividends

Parke Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. CNB Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Parke Bancorp pays out 25.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. CNB Financial pays out 30.3% 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. CNB Financial has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Parke Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Profitability

This table compares Parke Bancorp and CNB Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Parke Bancorp	23.95%	11.15%	1.58%
CNB Financial	14.56%	9.79%	0.89%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Parke Bancorp and CNB Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Parke Bancorp	0	1	0	0	2.00
CNB Financial	0	2	1	0	2.33

CNB Financial has a consensus price target of $27.75, suggesting a potential upside of 12.17%. Given CNB Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe CNB Financial is more favorable than Parke Bancorp.

Risk & Volatility

Parke Bancorp has a beta of 0.62, suggesting that its stock price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CNB Financial has a beta of 0.68, suggesting that its stock price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

CNB Financial beats Parke Bancorp on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Parke Bancorp

Parke Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Parke Bank that provides personal and business financial services to individuals and small to mid-sized businesses. The company offers various deposit products, including checking, savings, time, money market, and individual retirement accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. Its loan portfolio comprises commercial and industrial, construction, commercial and residential real estate mortgage, and consumer loans. In addition, the company provides debit cards, internet banking, and online bill payment services. Parke Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Washington Township, New Jersey.

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.