Head to Head Contrast: Mid-Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:MSVB) versus Capitol Federal Financial (NASDAQ:CFFN)

Mid-Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:MSVB) and Capitol Federal Financial (NASDAQ:CFFN) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, earnings, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Dividends

Mid-Southern Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. Capitol Federal Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.34 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.5%. Mid-Southern Bancorp pays out 60.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Capitol Federal Financial pays out -36.2% 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. Capitol Federal Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Risk and Volatility

Mid-Southern Bancorp has a beta of 0.17, meaning that its stock price is 83% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Capitol Federal Financial has a beta of 0.49, meaning that its stock price is 51% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Mid-Southern Bancorp and Capitol Federal Financial”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Mid-Southern Bancorp	$8.88 million	4.66	$1.46 million	$0.40	35.85
Capitol Federal Financial	-$38.19 million	-21.57	-$101.66 million	($0.94)	-6.55

Mid-Southern Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Capitol Federal Financial. Capitol Federal Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Mid-Southern Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

10.1% of Mid-Southern Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.5% of Capitol Federal Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 10.2% of Mid-Southern Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.2% of Capitol Federal Financial shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Mid-Southern Bancorp and Capitol Federal Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Mid-Southern Bancorp	9.17%	3.16%	0.43%
Capitol Federal Financial	-33.33%	4.02%	0.42%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Mid-Southern Bancorp and Capitol Federal Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Mid-Southern Bancorp	0	0	0	0	N/A
Capitol Federal Financial	0	2	0	0	2.00

Capitol Federal Financial has a consensus price target of $6.75, indicating a potential upside of 9.58%. Given Capitol Federal Financial’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Capitol Federal Financial is more favorable than Mid-Southern Bancorp.

Summary

Mid-Southern Bancorp beats Capitol Federal Financial on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Mid-Southern Bancorp

Mid-Southern Bancorp, Inc. operates as the holding company for Mid-Southern Savings Bank, FSB that provides various banking products and services to individuals and business customers. It accepts various deposit products, including checking, savings, money market, and demand accounts, as well as certificates of deposit and term deposits. The company also offers loans secured by first mortgages on one- to four-family residences, including home equity loans and lines of credit; commercial and multifamily real estate loans; construction loans secured by single-family residences; commercial and multifamily real estate loans; land and lot loans; commercial business loans; consumer loans, including new and used manufactured homes, automobiles and truck, boats, and motorcycles and recreational vehicle loans; loans secured by savings deposits and other personal loans; and unsecured consumer loans. In addition, it holds and manages an investment securities portfolio. The company provides its products and services through its main office in Salem; and through its branch offices located in Mitchell and Orleans, Indiana, as well as through loan production offices located in New Albany, Indiana and Louisville, Kentucky. The company was founded in 1886 and is headquartered in Salem, Indiana.

About Capitol Federal Financial

Capitol Federal Financial, Inc. operates as the holding company for Capitol Federal Savings Bank that provides various retail banking products and services in the United States. The company accepts a range of deposit products, including savings accounts, money market accounts, interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing checking accounts, and certificates of deposit. It also provides various loan products, such as one- to four-family residential real estate loans, commercial real estate, commercial and industrial, construction loans, and small business loans, as well as consumer loans, which include home equity loans and lines of credit, home improvement loans, vehicle loans, and loans secured by savings deposits. In addition, the company offers mobile, telephone, and online banking services, as well as bill payment services; credit cards; mortgage loan; operates a call center; and invests in various securities. The company serves the metropolitan areas of Topeka, Wichita, Lawrence, Manhattan, Emporia, and Salina, Kansas, and a portion of the metropolitan area of greater Kansas City. Capitol Federal Financial, Inc. was founded in 1893 and is headquartered in Topeka, Kansas.