Head to Head Contrast: Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) versus Virginia National Bankshares (NASDAQ:VABK)

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) and Virginia National Bankshares (NASDAQ:VABK) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Commerce Bancshares and Virginia National Bankshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Commerce Bancshares	26.07%	14.31%	1.71%
Virginia National Bankshares	28.18%	13.36%	1.52%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Commerce Bancshares and Virginia National Bankshares, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Commerce Bancshares	0	7	3	0	2.30
Virginia National Bankshares	0	1	0	0	2.00

Commerce Bancshares presently has a consensus target price of $64.86, indicating a potential upside of 16.65%. Given Commerce Bancshares’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Commerce Bancshares is more favorable than Virginia National Bankshares.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Commerce Bancshares and Virginia National Bankshares”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Commerce Bancshares	$1.90 billion	4.20	$566.25 million	$4.13	13.46
Virginia National Bankshares	$58.96 million	4.35	$19.26 million	$4.56	10.38

Commerce Bancshares has higher revenue and earnings than Virginia National Bankshares. Virginia National Bankshares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Commerce Bancshares, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

Commerce Bancshares has a beta of 0.58, suggesting that its share price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Virginia National Bankshares has a beta of 0.45, suggesting that its share price is 55% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Commerce Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $1.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Virginia National Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $1.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Commerce Bancshares pays out 26.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Virginia National Bankshares pays out 31.6% 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. Commerce Bancshares has increased its dividend for 58 consecutive years.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

70.3% of Commerce Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 37.4% of Virginia National Bankshares shares are held by institutional investors. 1.8% of Commerce Bancshares shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 14.4% of Virginia National Bankshares shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Commerce Bancshares beats Virginia National Bankshares on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Commerce Bancshares

Commerce Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Commerce Bank that provides retail, mortgage banking, corporate, investment, trust, and asset management products and services to individuals and businesses in the United States. It operates through three segments: Consumer, Commercial, and Wealth. The Consumer segment offers various banking products and services, including consumer deposits; consumer loans, such as automobile, motorcycle, marine, tractor/trailer, recreational vehicle, fixed rate and revolving home equity, and other consumer loans; patient health care financing; real estate loans; indirect and other consumer financing; retail branch network; personal mortgage banking; consumer installment lending; and consumer debit and credit bank cards. The Commercial segment provides corporate lending, leasing, international, merchant and commercial bank card, and securities safekeeping and bond accounting services; and business products, government deposits, and related commercial cash management services, as well as sells fixed income securities to correspondent banks, corporations, public institutions, municipalities, and individuals. The Wealth segment provides traditional trust and estate planning, advisory and discretionary investment portfolio management, and brokerage services, as well as private banking accounts. The company also offers private equity investment, securities brokerage, insurance agency, specialty lending, and leasing services, as well as online and mobile banking services. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. was founded in 1865 and is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri.

About Virginia National Bankshares

Virginia National Bankshares Corporation operates as the holding company for Virginia National Bank that provides a range of commercial and retail banking services. The company operates through Bank, Sturman Wealth Advisors, VNB Trust and Estate Services, and Masonry Capital segments. It provides checking accounts, demand deposits, NOW accounts, money market deposit accounts, time deposits, certificates of deposit, individual retirement accounts, and other depository services. In addition, the company offers commercial and industrial loans, real estate construction and land loans, commercial real estate loans, and 1-4 family residential mortgages, as well as consumer loans comprising student loans, revolving credit, and other fixed payment loans. Further, it provides automated teller machines, internet banking, treasury, and cash management services; merchant and debit card services; and wealth and investment advisory, and brokerage services. Additionally, the company offers investment management, corporate trustee, trust and estate administration, IRA administration, house investment management, and custody services. It serves individuals, businesses, and charitable organizations in the Charlottesville/Albemarle County, Fauquier County, Manassas, Prince William County, Richmond, and Winchester market areas in Virginia. Virginia National Bankshares Corporation was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Charlottesville, Virginia.