Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB – Get Free Report) and Oak Valley Bancorp (NASDAQ:OVLY – Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, risk, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.
Profitability
This table compares Columbia Banking System and Oak Valley Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Columbia Banking System | 19.28% | 11.41% | 1.30% |
| Oak Valley Bancorp | 24.80% | 11.99% | 1.20% |
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Columbia Banking System and Oak Valley Bancorp”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Columbia Banking System | $3.21 billion | 2.71 | $550.00 million | $2.51 | 11.97 |
| Oak Valley Bancorp | $95.04 million | 2.98 | $23.91 million | $2.88 | 11.68 |
Columbia Banking System has higher revenue and earnings than Oak Valley Bancorp. Oak Valley Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Columbia Banking System, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Dividends
Columbia Banking System pays an annual dividend of $1.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.9%. Oak Valley Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.75 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Columbia Banking System pays out 59.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Oak Valley Bancorp pays out 26.0% 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. Columbia Banking System has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years and Oak Valley Bancorp has raised its dividend for 11 consecutive years.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Columbia Banking System and Oak Valley Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Columbia Banking System | 0 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 2.43 |
| Oak Valley Bancorp | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.00 |
Columbia Banking System currently has a consensus target price of $32.13, indicating a potential upside of 6.91%. Given Columbia Banking System’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Columbia Banking System is more favorable than Oak Valley Bancorp.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
92.5% of Columbia Banking System shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 30.9% of Oak Valley Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 0.6% of Columbia Banking System shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 13.9% of Oak Valley Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Risk and Volatility
Columbia Banking System has a beta of 0.63, suggesting that its share price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Oak Valley Bancorp has a beta of 0.21, suggesting that its share price is 79% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Columbia Banking System beats Oak Valley Bancorp on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Columbia Banking System
Columbia Banking System, Inc. operates as the holding company of Umpqua Bank that provides banking, private banking, mortgage, and other financial services in the United States. The company offers deposit products, including business, non-interest bearing checking, interest-bearing checking and savings, money market, and certificate of deposit accounts; and insured cash sweep and other investment sweep solutions. It also provides commercial lending products, such as commercial lines of credit and term loans, accounts receivable and inventory financing, international trade finance, commercial property loans, multifamily loans, equipment loans, commercial equipment leases, real estate construction loans and permanent financing, and small business administration program financing, as well as capital markets. In addition, the company offers wealth management comprising financial planning, investment, trust, and insurance; treasury management, which includes digital and mobile banking solutions, ACH, wires, positive pay, remote deposit capture, integrated payments, integrated receivables, lockbox, cash vault, real-time payments, commercial card, and foreign exchange and international banking related products, as well as merchant services; and brokerage services, residential real estate loans and consumer loans. It serves its products to corporate, institutional, small business, and individual customers. The company was founded in 1953 and is headquartered in Tacoma, Washington.
About Oak Valley Bancorp
Oak Valley Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for Oak Valley Community Bank that provides a range of commercial banking services to individuals and small to medium-sized businesses in the Central Valley and the Eastern Sierras. The company's deposits products include checking and savings, money market, health savings, and individual retirement accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. It also offers commercial real estate loans, commercial business lending and trade finance, and small business administration lending, as well as consumer loans, including automobile loans, home mortgages, credit lines, and other personal loans. In addition, the company provides online and mobile banking, remote deposit capture, merchant, night depository, extended hours, wire transfer of funds, note collection services, and automated teller machines. The company was incorporated in 1990 and is headquartered in Oakdale, California.
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