Reviewing Commercial National Financial (OTCMKTS:CNAF) and NBT Bancorp (NASDAQ:NBTB)

Commercial National Financial (OTCMKTS:CNAF) and NBT Bancorp (NASDAQ:NBTB) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Commercial National Financial and NBT Bancorp”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Commercial National Financial	$17.37 million	1.27	$1.84 million	$0.69	11.17
NBT Bancorp	$657.88 million	3.15	$140.64 million	$3.00	13.20

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

Risk and Volatility

Commercial National Financial has a beta of 0.46, indicating that its stock price is 54% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, NBT Bancorp has a beta of 0.55, indicating that its stock price is 45% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Commercial National Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.7%. NBT Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. Commercial National Financial pays out 63.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. NBT Bancorp pays out 49.3% 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. NBT Bancorp has raised its dividend for 12 consecutive years.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

3.5% of Commercial National Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 58.5% of NBT Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 22.4% of Commercial National Financial shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.0% of NBT Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Commercial National Financial and NBT Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Commercial National Financial	0	0	0	0	0.00
NBT Bancorp	0	4	2	1	2.57

NBT Bancorp has a consensus price target of $52.00, indicating a potential upside of 31.28%. Given NBT Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe NBT Bancorp is more favorable than Commercial National Financial.

Profitability

This table compares Commercial National Financial and NBT Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Commercial National Financial	11.43%	N/A	N/A
NBT Bancorp	17.24%	10.35%	1.17%

Summary

NBT Bancorp beats Commercial National Financial on 16 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Commercial National Financial

Commercial National Financial Corporation operates as a bank holding company for Commercial Bank & Trust of PA that provides various banking products and services in Pennsylvania. The company offers checking, money market investment, and savings accounts; and business-time deposits, as well as certificates of deposit. It also provides loan products, such as home-equity, personal lines of credit, personal, and automobile loans, as well as residential and construction mortgages; and commercial loans, term loans, and lines of credit. In addition, the company offers other services, including automatic teller machine access/debit card, online banking, mobile banking, and online bill payment services; and direct deposit/payroll processing and night depository services. Further, it provides asset management and trust services comprising trust and estate, investment management, and cash management services, as well as retirement products. The company operates a network of nine community offices with facilities in Greensburg, Hempfield Township, Latrobe, Ligonier, North Huntingdon, Unity Township, and West Newton. Commercial National Financial Corporation was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.

About NBT Bancorp

NBT Bancorp Inc., a financial holding company, provides commercial banking, retail banking, and wealth management services. Its deposit products include demand deposit, savings, negotiable order of withdrawal, money market deposit, and certificate of deposit accounts. The company's loan portfolio comprises indirect and direct consumer, home equity, mortgages, business banking loans, and commercial loans; commercial and industrial, commercial real estate, agricultural, and commercial construction loans; and residential real estate loans. It also provides trust and investment services; financial planning and life insurance services; and retirement plan administration and recordkeeping services. In addition, the company offers insurance products comprising personal property and casualty, business liability, and commercial insurance, as well as other products and services through 24-hour online, mobile, and telephone channels that enable customers to check balances, make deposits, transfer funds, pay bills, access statements, apply for loans, and access various other products and services. Further, it operates as a property management and passive investment company, as well as investment advisor that provides investment management and financial consulting services. The company operates in upstate New York, northeastern Pennsylvania, southern New Hampshire, western Massachusetts, Vermont, southern Maine, and central and northwestern Connecticut. NBT Bancorp Inc. was founded in 1856 and is headquartered in Norwich, New York.