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

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

Dividends

CF Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $0.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. U.S. Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. CF Bankshares pays out 13.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. U.S. Bancorp pays out 61.2% 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 increased 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.

Valuation and Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
CF Bankshares	$49.58 million	2.79	$16.94 million	$2.03	13.28
U.S. Bancorp	$27.09 billion	2.88	$5.43 billion	$3.27	15.28

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.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for CF Bankshares and U.S. Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
CF Bankshares	0	0	0	0	0.00
U.S. Bancorp	0	10	8	0	2.44

U.S. Bancorp has a consensus price target of $53.50, indicating a potential upside of 7.09%. Given U.S. Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe U.S. Bancorp is more favorable than CF Bankshares.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

41.1% of CF Bankshares shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 77.6% of U.S. Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 19.7% of CF Bankshares shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of U.S. Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

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

Profitability

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

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

Summary

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

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.

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.