Comparing Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) & Sberbank of Russia (OTCMKTS:SBRCY)

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) and Sberbank of Russia (OTCMKTS:SBRCY) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, risk, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares Lakeland Financial and Sberbank of Russia’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lakeland Financial	23.85%	14.89%	1.38%
Sberbank of Russia	40.80%	21.45%	2.97%

Risk and Volatility

Lakeland Financial has a beta of 0.67, meaning that its share price is 33% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sberbank of Russia has a beta of 1.56, meaning that its share price is 56% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Lakeland Financial and Sberbank of Russia, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lakeland Financial	0	1	1	0	2.50
Sberbank of Russia	0	0	0	0	N/A

Lakeland Financial presently has a consensus target price of $74.00, suggesting a potential upside of 20.03%. Given Lakeland Financial’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Lakeland Financial is more favorable than Sberbank of Russia.

Dividends

Lakeland Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Sberbank of Russia pays an annual dividend of $0.85 per share and has a dividend yield of 163.5%. Lakeland Financial pays out 52.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Lakeland Financial has increased its dividend for 13 consecutive years.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

81.2% of Lakeland Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.1% of Sberbank of Russia shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.3% of Lakeland Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Lakeland Financial and Sberbank of Russia’s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lakeland Financial	$246.89 million	6.48	$93.77 million	$3.65	16.89
Sberbank of Russia	$49.52 billion	0.06	$16.97 billion	N/A	N/A

Sberbank of Russia has higher revenue and earnings than Lakeland Financial.

Summary

Sberbank of Russia beats Lakeland Financial on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Lakeland Financial

Lakeland Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Lake City Bank that provides various banking products and services in the United States. The company accepts various deposit products, such as noninterest bearing, interest-bearing checking, savings, money market, NOW, and demand deposits. Its loan products include commercial and industrial, commercial real estate and multi-family residential, construction, agri-business and agricultural, consumer 1-4 family mortgage, and other commercial and consumer loans. The company also provides retail and merchant credit card services; corporate treasury management, wealth advisory, and trust services; retail brokerage services, including various financial and investment products, such as annuities and life insurance; and mobile business banking and on-line treasury management services. It serves commercial real estate, manufacturing, agriculture, construction, retail, wholesale, finance and insurance, accommodation and food services, and health care industries. The company was founded in 1872 and is headquartered in Warsaw, Indiana.

About Sberbank of Russia

Sberbank of Russia, together with its subsidiaries, provides corporate and retail banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, corporate clients, and financial institutions. The company offers deposit products; pension accounts; payment, transfer, brokerage, and asset management services; car, housing, education, and consumer loans; mortgages; debit and credit cards, and overdraft service; and refinancing products. It also provides derivative, financial instrument, foreign currency, precious metal, corporate structured, and commodities and securities products, as well as debt and capital markets funding, documentary, and other commission services. In addition, it offers life, property, bank card, accident, liability, trust management, investment and universal life, travel, and mutual investment funds insurance products, as well as individual pension plans and corporate pension programs. Additionally, the company provides business bank accounts, platform for exporters and importers, merchant acquiring and international trading services, and corporate cards for small businesses; and loans, investment products and capital markets services, fund investment services, and banking services for corporate clients. It also provides trade finance, interbank lending, currency risk hedging, and treasury services; deposits, custody services, and electronic trading systems; and settlement and cash collection services to financial institutions. As of December 31, 2020, the company operated 11 Regional banks and 14,162 branches in Russia. The company also has operations in 18 countries internationally. Sberbank of Russia was founded in 1841 and is headquartered in Moscow, Russia.