Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) versus LCNB (NASDAQ:LCNB) Head to Head Review

LCNB (NASDAQ:LCNB) and Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, risk and earnings.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

34.7% of LCNB shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 61.0% of Valley National Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.8% of LCNB shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.9% of Valley National Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares LCNB and Valley National Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
LCNB	5.97%	6.55%	0.67%
Valley National Bancorp	10.79%	6.53%	0.69%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares LCNB and Valley National Bancorp”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
LCNB	$72.42 million	3.01	$12.63 million	$0.92	16.76
Valley National Bancorp	$1.82 billion	2.54	$498.51 million	$0.85	10.66

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

Volatility & Risk

LCNB has a beta of 0.76, suggesting that its share price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Valley National Bancorp has a beta of 1.08, suggesting that its share price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

LCNB pays an annual dividend of $0.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.7%. Valley National Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.9%. LCNB pays out 95.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Valley National Bancorp pays out 51.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for LCNB and Valley National Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
LCNB	0	0	0	0	N/A
Valley National Bancorp	1	6	1	0	2.00

Valley National Bancorp has a consensus target price of $8.31, indicating a potential downside of 8.25%. Given Valley National Bancorp’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Valley National Bancorp is more favorable than LCNB.

Summary

Valley National Bancorp beats LCNB on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About LCNB

LCNB Corp. operates as the financial holding company for LCNB National Bank that provides banking services in Ohio. Its deposit products include checking accounts, demand deposits, savings accounts, NOW and money market deposits, as well as individual retirement accounts and time certificates. The company's loan products comprise commercial and industrial, commercial and residential real estate, agricultural, construction, and small business administration loans; and residential mortgage loans that consists of loans for purchasing or refinancing personal residences, home equity lines of credit, and loans for commercial or consumer purposes secured by residential mortgages. It offers consumer loans, such as automobile, recreational vehicles, boat, home improvement, and personal loans. In addition, the company provides trust administration, estate settlement, and fiduciary services; and investment management services for trusts, agency accounts, individual retirement accounts, and foundations/endowments. Further, it offers investment services and products, including financial needs analysis, mutual funds, securities trading, annuities, and life insurance; and security brokerage services. Additionally, the company provides safe deposit boxes, night depositories, cashier's checks, bank-by-mail, ATMs, cash and transaction services, debit cards, wire transfers, electronic funds transfer, utility bill collections, notary public service, cash management services, telephone banking, PC Internet banking, mobile banking, and other services for individuals and businesses. LCNB Corp. was founded in 1877 and is headquartered in Lebanon, Ohio.

About Valley National Bancorp

Valley National Bancorp operates as the holding company for Valley National Bank that provides various commercial, private banking, retail, insurance, and wealth management financial services products. It operates through Consumer Banking, Commercial Banking, and Treasury and Corporate other segments. The company offers non-interest bearing, savings, NOW, money market, and time deposit accounts; commercial and industrial, commercial real estate, residential mortgage, and automobile loans; loans secured by the cash surrender value of life insurance; home equity loans and lines of credit; automobile financing; and secured and unsecured other consumer loans. It also invests in various securities and interest-bearing deposits with other banks; and provides international banking services, such as standby and documentary letters of credit, and related products, as well as foreign exchange transactions, documentary collections, and foreign wire transfers services. In addition, the company offers investment services for individuals and small to medium sized businesses; and trusts investment strategies designed for various investment profiles and objectives. Further, it provides trust services, such as living and testamentary trusts, investment management, custodial and escrow services, and estate administration to individuals; tax credit advisory services; brokerage services; property and casualty, life, health, and title insurance agency services; and health care equipment lending and other commercial equipment leasing services, as well as owns real estate related investments. Additionally, the company offers online, mobile, and telephone banking services; receivable, payment, and security solution, merchant, payroll processing, and liquidity services; credit cards; and drive-in and night deposit, automated teller machine, remote deposit capture, and safe deposit facility services. Valley National Bancorp was founded in 1927 and is headquartered in Morristown, New Jersey.