Comparing Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) and Community Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:CTBI)

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) and Community Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:CTBI) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, dividends and institutional ownership.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Bank Of Montreal and Community Trust Bancorp”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Bank Of Montreal	$55.92 billion	2.02	$6.22 billion	$8.86	18.35
Community Trust Bancorp	$298.90 million	4.53	$98.06 million	$5.97	12.50

Bank Of Montreal has higher revenue and earnings than Community Trust Bancorp. Community Trust Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Bank Of Montreal, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Bank Of Montreal and Community Trust Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Bank Of Montreal	1	6	5	0	2.33
Community Trust Bancorp	0	2	1	1	2.75

Community Trust Bancorp has a consensus price target of $81.50, suggesting a potential upside of 9.24%. Given Community Trust Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Community Trust Bancorp is more favorable than Bank Of Montreal.

Dividends

Bank Of Montreal pays an annual dividend of $4.81 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Community Trust Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $2.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Bank Of Montreal pays out 54.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Community Trust Bancorp pays out 43.6% 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. Bank Of Montreal has increased its dividend for 4 consecutive years and Community Trust Bancorp has increased its dividend for 44 consecutive years. Community Trust Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

This table compares Bank Of Montreal and Community Trust Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Bank Of Montreal	11.72%	13.60%	0.71%
Community Trust Bancorp	25.55%	12.52%	1.60%

Risk & Volatility

Bank Of Montreal has a beta of 0.95, indicating that its stock price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Community Trust Bancorp has a beta of 0.54, indicating that its stock price is 46% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

45.8% of Bank Of Montreal shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 60.2% of Community Trust Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Bank Of Montreal shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.6% of Community Trust Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Community Trust Bancorp beats Bank Of Montreal on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Bank Of Montreal

Bank of Montreal provides diversified financial services primarily in North America. It operates through Canadian P&C, U.S P&C, BMO Wealth Management, and BMO Capital Markets segments. The company’s personal banking products and services include deposits, mortgages, home lending, consumer credit, small business lending, credit cards, cash management, financial and investment advice, and other banking services; and commercial banking products and services comprise various of financing options and treasury and payment solutions, as well as risk management products. It also offers investing, banking, and wealth management advisory; digital investing services; financial solutions for individuals, families, and businesses; provides investment management services to institutional, retail, and high net worth investors; and diversified insurance, and wealth and pension de-risking solutions. In addition, the company provides individual life, critical illness and annuity products, as well as segregated funds, and group creditor and travel insurance to customers; debt and equity capital-raising, loan origination and syndication, balance sheet management, treasury management, mergers and acquisitions advice, restructurings and recapitalizations, trade finance, and risk mitigation services, as well as a range of banking and other operating services. Further, the company offers research and access to financial markets for institutional, corporate and retail clients through an integrated suite of sales and trading solutions related to debt, foreign exchange, interest rates, credit, equities, securitization, and commodities; provides new product development and origination services, as well as risk management and advisory services for hedging strategies, including in interest rates, foreign exchange rates and commodities prices; and funding and liquidity management services. The company was founded in 1817 and is headquartered in Montreal, Canada.

About Community Trust Bancorp

Community Trust Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Community Trust Bank, Inc. that engages in the provision of commercial and personal banking, and trust and wealth management services to small and mid-sized communities in eastern, northeastern, central, and south-central Kentucky, as well as southern West Virginia, and northeastern Tennessee. The company accepts time and demand deposits, checking accounts, savings accounts and savings certificates, individual retirement accounts and Keogh plans, and money market accounts. Its loan portfolio includes commercial, construction, mortgage, and personal loans; lease-financing, lines of credit, revolving lines of credit, and term loans, as well as other specialized loans, including asset-based financing; residential and commercial real estate loans; and consumer loans. The company also provides cash management, renting safe deposit boxes, and funds transfer services; issues letters of credit; and acts as a trustee of personal trusts, executor of estates, trustee for employee benefit trusts, and paying agent for bond and stock issues, as well as an investment agent and depositor for securities. In addition, it offers securities brokerage services; debit cards; annuity and life insurance products; and repurchase agreements, as well as mobile, internet banking, and e-statement services. The company was founded in 1903 and is headquartered in Pikeville, Kentucky.