Reviewing Orange County Bancorp (NASDAQ:OBT) & Cadence Bank (NYSE:CADE)

Orange County Bancorp (NASDAQ:OBT) and Cadence Bank (NYSE:CADE) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation and earnings.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Orange County Bancorp and Cadence Bank, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Orange County Bancorp	0	0	1	0	3.00
Cadence Bank	0	4	7	0	2.64

Orange County Bancorp currently has a consensus price target of $35.50, suggesting a potential upside of 44.60%. Cadence Bank has a consensus price target of $38.50, suggesting a potential upside of 23.10%. Given Orange County Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Orange County Bancorp is more favorable than Cadence Bank.

Profitability

This table compares Orange County Bancorp and Cadence Bank’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Orange County Bancorp	19.47%	15.51%	1.12%
Cadence Bank	18.03%	9.87%	1.07%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

42.5% of Orange County Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 84.6% of Cadence Bank shares are held by institutional investors. 10.5% of Orange County Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.6% of Cadence Bank shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Orange County Bancorp and Cadence Bank”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Orange County Bancorp	$107.63 million	2.59	$27.88 million	$2.47	9.94
Cadence Bank	$921.95 million	6.18	$523.60 million	$2.77	11.29

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

Risk and Volatility

Orange County Bancorp has a beta of 0.41, suggesting that its stock price is 59% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cadence Bank has a beta of 0.96, suggesting that its stock price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Orange County Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Cadence Bank pays an annual dividend of $1.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Orange County Bancorp pays out 21.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Cadence Bank pays out 39.7% 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. Cadence Bank has raised its dividend for 14 consecutive years. Cadence Bank is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Cadence Bank beats Orange County Bancorp on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Orange County Bancorp

Orange County Bancorp, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides commercial and consumer banking products and services, and trust and wealth management services to small businesses, middle-market enterprises, local municipal governments, and individuals. It accepts various deposits, including interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing demand accounts, money market deposit accounts, savings accounts, and certificates of deposit. The company also offers commercial real estate loans, commercial and industrial loans, commercial real estate construction loans, residential real estate loans, home equity loans, and consumer loans. In addition, it provides traditional trust and administration, asset management, financial planning, and wealth management services. The company operates full-service branches and loan production office in Orange, Westchester, Rockland, and Bronx counties in New York. Orange County Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1892 and is headquartered in Middletown, New York.

About Cadence Bank

Cadence Bank provides commercial banking and financial services. Its products and services include consumer banking, consumer loans, mortgages, home equity lines and loans, credit cards, commercial and business banking, treasury management, specialized and asset-based lending, commercial real estate, equipment financing, and correspondent banking services. The company’s products and services also comprise small business administration lending, foreign exchange, wealth management, investment and trust, financial planning, retirement plan management, and personal and business insurance services. Cadence Bank was founded in 1876 and is headquartered in Tupelo, Mississippi.