LifeStore Financial Group (OTCMKTS:LSFG) vs. Home Federal Bancorp, Inc. of Louisiana (NASDAQ:HFBL) Head to Head Survey

LifeStore Financial Group (OTCMKTS:LSFG) and Home Federal Bancorp, Inc. of Louisiana (NASDAQ:HFBL) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, valuation and risk.

Volatility and Risk

LifeStore Financial Group has a beta of 0.45, indicating that its stock price is 55% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Home Federal Bancorp, Inc. of Louisiana has a beta of 0.33, indicating that its stock price is 67% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares LifeStore Financial Group and Home Federal Bancorp, Inc. of Louisiana’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
LifeStore Financial Group	N/A	N/A	N/A
Home Federal Bancorp, Inc. of Louisiana	15.47%	9.28%	0.84%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for LifeStore Financial Group and Home Federal Bancorp, Inc. of Louisiana, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
LifeStore Financial Group	0	0	0	0	0.00
Home Federal Bancorp, Inc. of Louisiana	0	1	0	0	2.00

Dividends

LifeStore Financial Group pays an annual dividend of $0.65 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. Home Federal Bancorp, Inc. of Louisiana pays an annual dividend of $0.54 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Home Federal Bancorp, Inc. of Louisiana pays out 32.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Home Federal Bancorp, Inc. of Louisiana has increased its dividend for 11 consecutive years. Home Federal Bancorp, Inc. of Louisiana is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares LifeStore Financial Group and Home Federal Bancorp, Inc. of Louisiana”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
LifeStore Financial Group	$33.78 million	N/A	$5.56 million	N/A	N/A
Home Federal Bancorp, Inc. of Louisiana	$32.47 million	1.76	$3.89 million	$1.68	11.11

LifeStore Financial Group has higher revenue and earnings than Home Federal Bancorp, Inc. of Louisiana.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

21.1% of Home Federal Bancorp, Inc. of Louisiana shares are held by institutional investors. 12.2% of LifeStore Financial Group shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 19.4% of Home Federal Bancorp, Inc. of Louisiana shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Home Federal Bancorp, Inc. of Louisiana beats LifeStore Financial Group on 8 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About LifeStore Financial Group

LifeStore Financial Group, Inc. operates as a federally chartered thrift holding company for LifeStore Bank that provides personal and business banking products and services in North Carolina. The company offers checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit; mortgage loans, automobile loans, home equity lines of credit, commercial real estate loans, commercial construction loans, investment property loans, equipment loans, working capital loans/lines of credit, and small business administration loans; and credit cards. It also provides insurance agency products and services; investment and cash management services; and online and mobile banking services. The company was formerly known as AF Financial Group and changed its name to LifeStore Financial Group, Inc. in September 2009. LifeStore Financial Group, Inc. was founded in 1939 and is headquartered in West Jefferson, North Carolina. Lifestore Financial Group, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of AsheCo MHC, Inc.

About Home Federal Bancorp, Inc. of Louisiana

Home Federal Bancorp, Inc. of Louisiana operates as the holding company for Home Federal Bank that provides various financial services to individuals, corporate entities, and other organizations. The company accepts various deposits, such as passbook savings, certificates of deposit, and demand deposit accounts. Its loan products include one-to-four family residential real estate loans; commercial real estate secured loans; multi-family residential loans; commercial business loans; land loans; construction loans; home equity and second mortgage loans; lines of credit; and consumer non-real estate loans, including loans secured by deposit accounts, automobile loans, overdrafts, and other unsecured loans. The company operates through branches in Shreveport, Bossier City, Minden, and Benton, Louisiana. The company was founded in 1924 and is based in Shreveport, Louisiana.