M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) and Central Pacific Financial (NYSE:CPF) Head to Head Survey

Central Pacific Financial (NYSE:CPF) and M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, risk, dividends, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and profitability.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Central Pacific Financial and M&T Bank”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Central Pacific Financial	$344.82 million	2.30	$53.41 million	$1.97	14.90
M&T Bank	$9.28 billion	3.53	$2.59 billion	$14.63	13.50

M&T Bank has higher revenue and earnings than Central Pacific Financial. M&T Bank is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Central Pacific Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

88.4% of Central Pacific Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 84.7% of M&T Bank shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.7% of Central Pacific Financial shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of M&T Bank shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Central Pacific Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. M&T Bank pays an annual dividend of $5.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Central Pacific Financial pays out 52.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. M&T Bank pays out 36.9% 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.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Central Pacific Financial and M&T Bank, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Central Pacific Financial	0	0	0	0	0.00
M&T Bank	1	8	8	0	2.41

M&T Bank has a consensus price target of $221.68, suggesting a potential upside of 12.21%. Given M&T Bank’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe M&T Bank is more favorable than Central Pacific Financial.

Volatility and Risk

Central Pacific Financial has a beta of 1.19, meaning that its stock price is 19% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, M&T Bank has a beta of 0.79, meaning that its stock price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Central Pacific Financial and M&T Bank’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Central Pacific Financial	15.49%	12.03%	0.85%
M&T Bank	19.24%	10.12%	1.25%

Summary

M&T Bank beats Central Pacific Financial on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Central Pacific Financial

Central Pacific Financial Corp. operates as the bank holding company for Central Pacific Bank that provides a range of commercial banking products and services to businesses, professionals, and individuals in the United States. It offers various deposit products and services, including checking, savings and time deposits, cash management and digital banking, trust, and retail brokerage services, as well as money market accounts and certificates of deposit. The company also provides various lending activities, such as commercial, commercial and residential mortgage, home equity, and consumer loans; and other products and services comprising debit cards, internet and mobile banking, cash management services, full-service ATMs, safe deposit boxes, international banking services, night depository facilities, foreign exchange, and wire transfers. In addition, it offers wealth management products and services that include non-deposit investment products, annuities, insurance, investment management, asset custody and general consultation, and planning services. The company was founded in 1954 and is headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii.

About M&T Bank

M&T Bank Corp. operates as a bank holding company, which engages in the provision of retail and commercial banking, trust, wealth management and investment services. It operates through the following segments: Business Banking, Commercial Banking, Commercial Real Estate, Discretionary Portfolio, Residential Mortgage Banking, and Retail Banking. The Business Banking segment provides services to small businesses and professionals through the company’s branch network, business banking centers, and other delivery channels such as telephone banking, Internet banking and automated teller machines. The Commercial Banking segment offers credit products and banking services for middle-market and large commercial customers. The Commercial Real Estate segment includes credit and deposit services to its customers. The Discretionary Portfolio segment consists of investment and trading securities, residential mortgage loans and other assets, short-term and long-term borrowed funds, brokered certificates of deposit and interest rate swap agreements related thereto, and Cayman Islands branch deposits. The Residential Mortgage Banking segment consists of residential mortgage loans and sells substantially all of those loans in the secondary market to investors. The Retail Banking segment offers services to consumers through several delivery channels which include branch offices, automated teller machines, telephone banking, and Internet banking. The company was founded on August 30, 1856, and is headquartered in Buffalo, NY.