Reviewing National Bank (NYSE:NBHC) & FB Financial (NYSE:FBK)

National Bank (NYSE:NBHC) and FB Financial (NYSE:FBK) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, dividends, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and risk.

Profitability

This table compares National Bank and FB Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
National Bank	15.11%	8.35%	1.13%
FB Financial	22.62%	12.32%	1.44%

Dividends

National Bank pays an annual dividend of $1.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. FB Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. National Bank pays out 53.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. FB Financial pays out 18.7% 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. National Bank has increased its dividend for 10 consecutive years and FB Financial has increased its dividend for 8 consecutive years. National Bank is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares National Bank and FB Financial”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
National Bank	$587.34 million	2.95	$109.57 million	$2.38	16.34
FB Financial	$701.34 million	3.81	$122.62 million	$4.50	11.89

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

92.7% of National Bank shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 65.4% of FB Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.8% of National Bank shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.0% of FB Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for National Bank and FB Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
National Bank	0	3	2	0	2.40
FB Financial	0	0	6	1	3.14

National Bank currently has a consensus price target of $44.67, suggesting a potential upside of 14.89%. FB Financial has a consensus price target of $64.43, suggesting a potential upside of 20.41%. Given FB Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe FB Financial is more favorable than National Bank.

Risk & Volatility

National Bank has a beta of 0.84, meaning that its stock price is 16% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, FB Financial has a beta of 0.98, meaning that its stock price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

FB Financial beats National Bank on 13 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About National Bank

National Bank Holdings Corporation operates as the bank holding company for NBH Bank that provides various banking products and financial services to commercial, business, and consumer clients in the United States. It offers deposit products, including checking, savings, money market, and other deposit accounts, including fixed-rate and fixed maturity time deposits. The company also provides commercial and industrial loans and leases, such as working capital loans, equipment loans, lender finance loans, food and agriculture loans, government and non-profit loans, owner occupied commercial real estate loans, and other commercial loans and leases; non-owner occupied commercial real estate loans consisting of loans on commercial properties, such as office buildings, warehouse/distribution buildings, multi-family, hospitality, and retail buildings; small business administration loans to support small businesses and entrepreneurs; term loans, line of credits, and real estate secured loans; residential real estate loans; and consumer loans. In addition, it offers treasury management solutions comprising online and mobile banking, commercial credit card, wire transfer, automated clearing house, electronic bill payment, lock box, remote deposit capture, merchant processing, cash vault, controlled disbursements, and fraud prevention services, as well as other auxiliary services, including account reconciliation, collections, repurchase accounts, zero balance accounts, and sweep accounts. The company operates through a network of banking centers located in Colorado, the greater Kansas City region, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, and Texas. It also operates ATMs. The company was formerly known as NBH Holdings Corp. and changed its name to National Bank Holdings Corporation in March 2012. The company was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colorado.

About FB Financial

FB Financial Corporation operates as a bank holding company for FirstBank that provides a suite of commercial and consumer banking services to businesses, professionals, and individuals. The company operates in segments, such as Banking and Mortgage. It offers checking, demand, money market, and savings accounts; deposit and lending products and services to corporate, commercial, and consumer customers; and time deposits and certificates of deposits, as well as residential mortgage loans. The company also provides owner-occupied and non-owner-occupied real estate commercial, residential real estate 1-4 family mortgage, multi-family residential, commercial and industrial, construction, land acquisition, residential lines of credit, and land development loans; and consumer and other loans, such as car, boat, and other recreational vehicle loans, as well as manufactured homes without real estate and personal lines of credit. In addition, the company offers mortgage banking services through its bank branch network and mortgage banking offices in the southeastern United States; direct-to-consumer internet delivery channel; and trust, insurance, and investment services, as well as online and mobile banking services. The company operates full-service bank branches and limited-service branches locations throughout Tennessee, Nashville, Chattanooga, Knoxville, Memphis, Jackson, Birmingham, Florence, Huntsville, Alabama, Bowling Green, and Kentucky; and mortgage offices throughout the southeastern United States. The company was formerly known as First South Bancorp, Inc. and changed its name to FB Financial Corporation in 2016. FB Financial Corporation was founded in 1906 and is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee.