Head-To-Head Contrast: ChoiceOne Financial Services (NASDAQ:COFS) versus Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB)

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) and ChoiceOne Financial Services (NASDAQ:COFS) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitability, valuation and risk.

Risk & Volatility

Columbia Banking System has a beta of 0.66, suggesting that its share price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ChoiceOne Financial Services has a beta of 0.71, suggesting that its share price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

92.5% of Columbia Banking System shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 19.9% of ChoiceOne Financial Services shares are held by institutional investors. 0.6% of Columbia Banking System shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 7.9% of ChoiceOne Financial Services shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Columbia Banking System pays an annual dividend of $1.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.3%. ChoiceOne Financial Services pays an annual dividend of $1.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Columbia Banking System pays out 56.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. ChoiceOne Financial Services pays out 34.4% 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.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Columbia Banking System and ChoiceOne Financial Services”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Columbia Banking System	$2.97 billion	1.93	$533.67 million	$2.54	10.76
ChoiceOne Financial Services	$139.10 million	2.13	$26.73 million	$3.26	10.15

Columbia Banking System has higher revenue and earnings than ChoiceOne Financial Services. ChoiceOne Financial Services is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Columbia Banking System, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Columbia Banking System and ChoiceOne Financial Services’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Columbia Banking System	17.99%	11.21%	1.10%
ChoiceOne Financial Services	19.21%	12.44%	1.04%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Columbia Banking System and ChoiceOne Financial Services, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Columbia Banking System	0	9	4	0	2.31
ChoiceOne Financial Services	0	0	1	0	3.00

Columbia Banking System currently has a consensus price target of $30.38, indicating a potential upside of 11.14%. ChoiceOne Financial Services has a consensus price target of $39.00, indicating a potential upside of 17.82%. Given ChoiceOne Financial Services’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe ChoiceOne Financial Services is more favorable than Columbia Banking System.

Summary

ChoiceOne Financial Services beats Columbia Banking System on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Columbia Banking System

Columbia Banking System, Inc. operates as the holding company of Umpqua Bank that provides banking, private banking, mortgage, and other financial services in the United States. The company offers deposit products, including business, non-interest bearing checking, interest-bearing checking and savings, money market, and certificate of deposit accounts; and insured cash sweep and other investment sweep solutions. It also provides commercial lending products, such as commercial lines of credit and term loans, accounts receivable and inventory financing, international trade finance, commercial property loans, multifamily loans, equipment loans, commercial equipment leases, real estate construction loans and permanent financing, and small business administration program financing, as well as capital markets. In addition, the company offers wealth management comprising financial planning, investment, trust, and insurance; treasury management, which includes digital and mobile banking solutions, ACH, wires, positive pay, remote deposit capture, integrated payments, integrated receivables, lockbox, cash vault, real-time payments, commercial card, and foreign exchange and international banking related products, as well as merchant services; and brokerage services, residential real estate loans and consumer loans. It serves its products to corporate, institutional, small business, and individual customers. The company was founded in 1953 and is headquartered in Tacoma, Washington.

About ChoiceOne Financial Services

ChoiceOne Financial Services, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for ChoiceOne Bank that provides banking services to corporations, partnerships, and individuals in Michigan. The company offers various deposit products, including time, savings, and demand deposits, safe deposit, and automated transaction machine services. It also provides commercial lending products, such as business, industry, agricultural, construction, inventory, and real estate loans; and consumer loans comprising direct and indirect loans to consumers and purchasers of residential and real properties. In addition, the company offers alternative investment products, which include annuities and mutual funds; and sells insurance policies, such as life and health for commercial and consumer clients. Further, it provides trust and wealth management services. ChoiceOne Financial Services, Inc. was founded in 1898 and is headquartered in Sparta, Michigan.