Analyzing U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) and CF Bankshares (NASDAQ:CFBK)

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) and CF Bankshares (NASDAQ:CFBK) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations and risk.

Risk & Volatility

U.S. Bancorp has a beta of 1.03, suggesting that its share price is 3% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CF Bankshares has a beta of 0.55, suggesting that its share price is 45% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

77.6% of U.S. Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 41.1% of CF Bankshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.2% of U.S. Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 19.7% of CF Bankshares shares are owned by 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.

Profitability

This table compares U.S. Bancorp and CF Bankshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
U.S. Bancorp	12.92%	12.91%	0.96%
CF Bankshares	10.63%	8.20%	0.64%

Dividends

U.S. Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.2%. CF Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $0.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. U.S. Bancorp pays out 61.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. CF Bankshares pays out 13.8% 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. U.S. Bancorp has raised its dividend for 14 consecutive years. U.S. Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for U.S. Bancorp and CF Bankshares, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
U.S. Bancorp	0	10	9	0	2.47
CF Bankshares	0	0	0	0	0.00

U.S. Bancorp presently has a consensus target price of $53.68, indicating a potential upside of 12.01%. Given U.S. Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe U.S. Bancorp is more favorable than CF Bankshares.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares U.S. Bancorp and CF Bankshares”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
U.S. Bancorp	$27.09 billion	2.76	$5.43 billion	$3.27	14.65
CF Bankshares	$49.58 million	2.64	$16.94 million	$2.03	12.60

U.S. Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than CF Bankshares. CF Bankshares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than U.S. Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

U.S. Bancorp beats CF Bankshares on 15 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About U.S. Bancorp

U.S. Bancorp, a financial services holding company, provides various financial services to individuals, businesses, institutional organizations, governmental entities, and other financial institutions in the United States. It operates through Wealth, Corporate, Commercial and Institutional Banking; Consumer and Business Banking; Payment Services; and Treasury and Corporate Support segments. The company offers depository services, including checking accounts, savings accounts, and time certificate contracts; and lending services, such as traditional credit products and credit card services, lease financing and import/export trade, asset-backed lending, agricultural finance, and other products. It also provides ancillary services comprising capital markets, treasury management, and receivable lock-box collection services to corporate and governmental entity customers. In addition, the company offers asset management and fiduciary services for individuals, estates, foundations, business corporations, and charitable organizations. Further, it provides investment and insurance products to its customers principally within its domestic markets, as well as fund administration services to mutual and other funds. Additionally, the company provides corporate and purchasing card, and corporate trust services. Furthermore, it offers trust and investment management, merchant and ATM processing, mortgage banking, insurance, and brokerage and leasing services. U.S. Bancorp was founded in 1863 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

About CF Bankshares

CF Bankshares Inc. operates as the bank holding company for CFBank, National Association that provides various banking products and services in the United States. The company accepts savings, retail and business checking accounts, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. It offers single-family mortgage loans; commercial real estate and multi-family residential mortgage loans; commercial loans and equipment leases; residential real estate loans and treasury management depository services; retail banking services and products. In addition, the company offers consumer loans, such as home equity lines of credit, home improvement loans, and loans secured by deposits and purchased loans, as well as other loans. Further, it provides online internet banking, mobile banking, and remote deposits. The company was formerly known as Central Federal Corporation and changed its name to CF Bankshares Inc. in July 2020. CF Bankshares Inc. was founded in 1892 and is based in Columbus, Ohio.