Does Bank of South Carolina Corporation's (NASDAQ:BKSC) CEO Salary Reflect Performance?
In 2012, Fleetwood Hassell was appointed CEO of Bank of South Carolina Corporation (NASDAQ:BKSC). First, this article will compare CEO compensation with compensation at similar sized companies. After that, we will consider the growth in the business. And finally we will reflect on how common stockholders have fared in the last few years, as a secondary measure of performance. This method should give us information to assess how appropriately the company pays the CEO.
See our latest analysis for Bank of South Carolina
How Does Fleetwood Hassell's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?
At the time of writing, our data says that Bank of South Carolina Corporation has a market cap of US$88m, and reported total annual CEO compensation of US$334k for the year to December 2019. That's a fairly small increase of 6.4% on year before. While we always look at total compensation first, we note that the salary component is less, at US$286k. We looked at a group of companies with market capitalizations under US$200m, and the median CEO total compensation was US$615k.
Next, let's break down remuneration compositions to understand how the industry and company compare with each other. Talking in terms of the sector, salary represented approximately 43% of total compensation out of all the companies we analysed, while other remuneration made up 57% of the pie. According to our research, Bank of South Carolina has allocated a higher percentage of pay to salary in comparison to the broader sector.
Most shareholders would consider it a positive that Fleetwood Hassell takes less total compensation than the CEOs of most similar size companies, leaving more for shareholders. However, before we heap on the praise, we should delve deeper to understand business performance. The graphic below shows how CEO compensation at Bank of South Carolina has changed from year to year.
Is Bank of South Carolina Corporation Growing?
Bank of South Carolina Corporation has seen earnings per share (EPS) move positively by an average of 14% a year, over the last three years (using a line of best fit). It achieved revenue growth of 5.8% over the last year.
Overall this is a positive result for shareholders, showing that the company has improved in recent years. It's good to see a bit of revenue growth, as this suggests the business is able to grow sustainably. We don't have analyst forecasts, but shareholders might want to examine this detailed historical graph of earnings, revenue and cash flow.
Has Bank of South Carolina Corporation Been A Good Investment?
Bank of South Carolina Corporation has not done too badly by shareholders, with a total return of 3.6%, over three years. But they probably don't want to see the CEO paid more than is normal for companies around the same size.
In Summary...
It looks like Bank of South Carolina Corporation pays its CEO less than similar sized companies.
Since the business is growing, many would argue this suggests the pay is modest. While returns over the last few years haven't been top notch, there is nothing to suggest to us that Fleetwood Hassell is overcompensated. Few would complain about reasonable CEO remuneration when the business is growing earnings per share. But it would be nice if insiders were also buying shares. Shifting gears from CEO pay for a second, we've picked out 2 warning signs for Bank of South Carolina that investors should be aware of in a dynamic business environment.
Arguably, business quality is much more important than CEO compensation levels. So check out this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.
If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.
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