Head-To-Head Survey: SouthState (NASDAQ:SSB) vs. ACNB (NASDAQ:ACNB)

ACNB (NASDAQ:ACNB) and SouthState (NASDAQ:SSB) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability and risk.

Profitability

This table compares ACNB and SouthState’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ACNB	24.09%	10.91%	1.31%
SouthState	22.38%	9.62%	1.21%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

32.3% of ACNB shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.8% of SouthState shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.6% of ACNB shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.7% of SouthState shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk & Volatility

ACNB has a beta of 0.69, suggesting that its stock price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SouthState has a beta of 0.68, suggesting that its stock price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

ACNB pays an annual dividend of $1.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. SouthState pays an annual dividend of $2.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. ACNB pays out 34.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. SouthState pays out 31.0% 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. SouthState has increased its dividend for 13 consecutive years.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for ACNB and SouthState, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ACNB	0	0	4	0	3.00
SouthState	0	2	7	1	2.90

ACNB currently has a consensus price target of $48.40, indicating a potential upside of 25.62%. SouthState has a consensus price target of $118.40, indicating a potential upside of 45.34%. Given SouthState’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe SouthState is more favorable than ACNB.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares ACNB and SouthState”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ACNB	$108.34 million	3.75	$31.85 million	$3.73	10.33
SouthState	$1.67 billion	4.95	$534.78 million	$6.96	11.70

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

Summary

SouthState beats ACNB on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ACNB

ACNB Corporation, a financial holding company, offers banking, insurance, and financial services to individual, business, and government customers in the United States. The company provides checking, savings, and money market deposit accounts, as well as time deposits and debit cards. It also offers commercial lending products, such as commercial mortgages, real estate development and construction loans, accounts receivable and inventory financing, and agricultural and governmental loans; consumer lending products, including home equity loans and lines of credit, automobile and recreational vehicle loans, manufactured housing loans, and personal lines of credit; and mortgage lending programs include personal residential mortgages, and residential construction and investment mortgage loans. In addition, the company provides other services that are related to testamentary trusts, life insurance trusts, charitable remainder trusts, guardianships, powers of attorney, custodial accounts, and investment management and advisory accounts; and retail brokerage services. Further, it acts as a trustee to invest in, protect, manage, and distribute financial assets. Additionally, the company offers property and casualty, health, life, and disability insurance products to commercial and personal clients; and online, telephone, and mobile banking, as well as automated teller machine services. ACNB Corporation was founded in 1857 and is headquartered in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

About SouthState

SouthState Corporation operates as the bank holding company for SouthState Bank, National Association that provides a range of banking services and products to individuals and companies. It offers checking accounts, savings deposits, interest-bearing transaction accounts, certificates of deposits, money market accounts, and other time deposits, as well as bond accounting, asset/liability consulting related activities, and other clearing and corporate checking account services. The company also offers commercial real estate loans, residential real estate loans, commercial, and industrial loans, as well as consumer loans, including auto, boat, and personal installment, as well as business, agriculture, real estate-secured (mortgage), home improvement, and manufactured housing loans. In addition, it provides debit card, mobile services, funds transfer products and services, and treasury management services comprising merchant, automated clearing house, lock-box, remote deposit capture, and other treasury services, as well as asset and wealth management, and other fiduciary and private banking services. Further, the company offers safe deposit boxes, bank money orders, wire transfer, brokerage services, and alternative investment products, including annuities, mutual funds, and trust management services; and credit cards, letters of credit, and home equity lines of credit. The company also serves its customers through online, mobile, and telephone banking platforms. The company was formerly known as First Financial Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to SouthState Corporation in July 2013. SouthState Corporation was founded in 1933 and is headquartered in Winter Haven, Florida.