Kearny Financial (NASDAQ:KRNY – Get Free Report) and ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS – Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation and dividends.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
71.0% of Kearny Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 67.3% of ServisFirst Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.4% of Kearny Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.7% of ServisFirst Bancshares shares are owned by company 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.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Kearny Financial and ServisFirst Bancshares, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Kearny Financial | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2.33 |
| ServisFirst Bancshares | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
Profitability
This table compares Kearny Financial and ServisFirst Bancshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Kearny Financial | 8.57% | 3.89% | 0.38% |
| ServisFirst Bancshares | 25.24% | 15.67% | 1.50% |
Risk and Volatility
Kearny Financial has a beta of 0.72, suggesting that its stock price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ServisFirst Bancshares has a beta of 0.94, suggesting that its stock price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Dividends
Kearny Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.6%. ServisFirst Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $1.34 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. Kearny Financial pays out 93.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. ServisFirst Bancshares pays out 28.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. ServisFirst Bancshares has raised its dividend for 10 consecutive years.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Kearny Financial and ServisFirst Bancshares”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Kearny Financial | $343.53 million | 1.47 | $26.08 million | $0.47 | 16.62 |
| ServisFirst Bancshares | $981.18 million | 4.14 | $227.24 million | $4.67 | 15.92 |
ServisFirst Bancshares has higher revenue and earnings than Kearny Financial. ServisFirst Bancshares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Kearny Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
ServisFirst Bancshares beats Kearny Financial on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Kearny Financial
Kearny Financial Corp. operates as the holding company for Kearny Bank that provides various banking products and services in the United States. It offers various deposit products, including interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing checking accounts, money market deposit accounts, savings accounts, and certificates of deposit accounts. The company also provides various loans, such as multi-family and nonresidential real estate mortgage loans, commercial term loans and lines of credit, one- to four-family residential mortgage loans, and home equity loans and lines of credit; loans to individuals, builders, or developers for the construction of multi-family residential buildings or commercial real estate, or for the construction or renovation of one- to four-family residences; overdraft lines of credit; and personal loans. In addition, it engages in the investment activities. Kearny Financial Corp. was founded in 1884 and is headquartered in Fairfield, New Jersey.
About ServisFirst Bancshares
ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for ServisFirst Bank that provides various banking services to individual and corporate customers. It accepts demand, time, savings, and other deposits; checking, money market, and IRA accounts; and certificates of deposit. The company's loan products include commercial lending products, including seasonal, bridge, and term loans for working capital, expansion of the business, acquisition of property, and plant and equipment, as well as commercial lines of credit; commercial real estate loans, construction and development loans, and residential real estate loans; and consumer loans, such as home equity loans, vehicle financing, loans secured by deposits, and secured and unsecured personal loans. It also offers other banking products and services comprising telephone and mobile banking, Internet banking, direct deposit, traveler's checks, safe deposit boxes, attorney trust accounts, automatic account transfers, automated teller machines, and debit and credit card systems; treasury and cash management services; wire transfer, night depository, banking-by-mail, and remote capture services; and correspondent banking services to other financial institutions. In addition, the company holds and manages participations in residential mortgages and commercial real estate loans originated by ServisFirst Bank in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee. The company was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama.
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