Critical Analysis: Kentucky Bancshares (OTCMKTS:KTYB) vs. M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB)

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) and Kentucky Bancshares (OTCMKTS:KTYB) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, earnings, profitability, valuation and risk.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for M&T Bank and Kentucky Bancshares, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
M&T Bank	0	9	6	0	2.40
Kentucky Bancshares	0	0	0	0	N/A

M&T Bank currently has a consensus target price of $172.92, suggesting a potential upside of 8.29%. Given M&T Bank’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe M&T Bank is more favorable than Kentucky Bancshares.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares M&T Bank and Kentucky Bancshares’ revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
M&T Bank	$9.17 billion	2.90	$2.74 billion	$14.79	10.79
Kentucky Bancshares	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

M&T Bank has higher revenue and earnings than Kentucky Bancshares.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

84.7% of M&T Bank shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.8% of M&T Bank shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 15.0% of Kentucky Bancshares shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares M&T Bank and Kentucky Bancshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
M&T Bank	17.84%	9.62%	1.14%
Kentucky Bancshares	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

M&T Bank beats Kentucky Bancshares on 7 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About M&T Bank

M&T Bank Corporation operates as a bank holding company for Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company and Wilmington Trust, National Association that engages in the provision of retail and commercial banking products and services in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Commercial Bank, Retail Bank, and Institutional Services and Wealth Management. It offers a range of credit products and banking services, such as commercial lending and leasing, letters of credits, commercial real estate loans, and credit facilities secured by various commercial real estate to middle-market and large commercial customers. The company also provides customers deposit products, including demand, savings and time accounts, and other services; automobile and recreational finance loans, home equity loans and lines of credit, credit cards, and other loan products, as well as residential mortgage and real estate loans; business loans, cash management, payroll, and direct deposit services to consumers and small businesses through branch network, telephone banking, internet banking, and automated teller machines. In addition, it offers trustee, agency, investment management, security brokerage, and administrative services; personal trust, planning, fiduciary, asset management, family office, and other services; and investment products, including mutual funds and annuities, and other services for corporations and institutions, investment bankers, corporate tax, finance and legal executives, and other institutional clients. The company was founded in 1856 and is headquartered in Buffalo, New York.

About Kentucky Bancshares

Kentucky Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Kentucky Bank that provides commercial and consumer banking products and services. It accepts various deposit products, including checking, savings, and money market accounts; and certificates of deposit, safe deposits, interest and noninterest bearing deposits, and time deposits. The company also offers commercial, agricultural, and real estate loans to small-to-medium-sized industrial, service, and agricultural businesses; and residential mortgages, installments, and other loans to individual and other non-commercial customers. In addition, it provides credit cards and other consumer-oriented financial services; brokerage services, annuities, life and long-term care insurance, personal trust, and agency services; and Internet banking services, such as bill payment. The company has operations in Bourbon, Clark, Elliott, Fayette, Harrison, Jessamine, Madison, Rowan, Scott, Woodford, and other counties in Kentucky. Kentucky Bancshares, Inc. was founded in 1851 and is headquartered in Paris, Kentucky.