Head-To-Head Analysis: Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) versus Origin Bancorp (NASDAQ:OBK)

Origin Bancorp (NASDAQ:OBK) and Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, earnings, risk, institutional ownership, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares Origin Bancorp and Lakeland Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Origin Bancorp	12.34%	6.91%	0.77%
Lakeland Financial	22.85%	13.64%	1.37%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Origin Bancorp and Lakeland Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Origin Bancorp	0	1	3	1	3.00
Lakeland Financial	0	1	0	0	2.00

Origin Bancorp presently has a consensus price target of $42.80, indicating a potential upside of 9.91%. Lakeland Financial has a consensus price target of $74.00, indicating a potential upside of 5.66%. Given Origin Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Origin Bancorp is more favorable than Lakeland Financial.

Volatility & Risk

Origin Bancorp has a beta of 1, indicating that its stock price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.Comparatively, Lakeland Financial has a beta of 0.69, indicating that its stock price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Origin Bancorp and Lakeland Financial”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Origin Bancorp	$619.96 million	1.96	$83.80 million	$2.46	15.83
Lakeland Financial	$393.12 million	4.54	$93.77 million	$3.85	18.19

Lakeland Financial has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Origin Bancorp. Origin Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Lakeland Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Origin Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Lakeland Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Origin Bancorp pays out 24.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Lakeland Financial pays out 49.9% 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.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

54.7% of Origin Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 81.2% of Lakeland Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 6.2% of Origin Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.3% of Lakeland Financial shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Lakeland Financial beats Origin Bancorp on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Origin Bancorp

Origin Bancorp, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for Origin Bank that provides banking and financial services to small and medium-sized businesses, municipalities, and retail clients in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. It offers noninterest and interest-bearing checking accounts, savings deposits, money market accounts, and time deposits; and offers commercial real estate, construction and land development, consumer, residential real estate, commercial and industrial, mortgage warehouse, and residential mortgage loans. The company also offers personal and commercial property, and casualty insurance products; and Internet banking and voice response information, mobile applications, cash management, overdraft protection, direct deposit, safe deposit boxes, U.S. savings bonds, and automatic account transfer services; and mobile and online banking, treasury management, mortgage origination and servicing facilities, peer-to-peer electronic pay solutions, and personal financial management solutions. The company was founded in 1912 and is headquartered in Ruston, Louisiana.

About Lakeland Financial

Lakeland Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Lake City Bank that provides various banking products and services in the United States. The company accepts various deposit products, such as noninterest bearing, interest-bearing checking, savings, money market, NOW, and demand deposits. Its loan products include commercial and industrial, commercial real estate and multi-family residential, construction, agri-business and agricultural, consumer 1-4 family mortgage, and other commercial and consumer loans. The company also provides retail and merchant credit card services; corporate treasury management, wealth advisory, and trust services; retail brokerage services, including various financial and investment products, such as annuities and life insurance; and mobile business banking and on-line treasury management services. It serves commercial real estate, manufacturing, agriculture, construction, retail, wholesale, finance and insurance, accommodation and food services, and health care industries. The company was founded in 1872 and is headquartered in Warsaw, Indiana.