Why TriCo Bancshares's (NASDAQ:TCBK) CEO Pay Matters To You
Rick Smith has been the CEO of TriCo Bancshares (NASDAQ:TCBK) since 1999. First, this article will compare CEO compensation with compensation at similar sized companies. Then we'll look at a snap shot of the business growth. And finally - as a second measure of performance - we will look at the returns shareholders have received over the last few years. This method should give us information to assess how appropriately the company pays the CEO.
Check out our latest analysis for TriCo Bancshares
How Does Rick Smith's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?
According to our data, TriCo Bancshares has a market capitalization of US$1.1b, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth US$3.2m over the year to December 2018. While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth noting the salary is lower, valued at US$715k. We further remind readers that the CEO may face performance requirements to receive the non-salary part of the total compensation. We looked at a group of companies with market capitalizations from US$400m to US$1.6b, and the median CEO total compensation was US$2.5m.
It would therefore appear that TriCo Bancshares pays Rick Smith more than the median CEO remuneration at companies of a similar size, in the same market. However, this fact alone doesn't mean the remuneration is too high. We can better assess whether the pay is overly generous by looking into the underlying business performance.
You can see, below, how CEO compensation at TriCo Bancshares has changed over time.
Is TriCo Bancshares Growing?
On average over the last three years, TriCo Bancshares has grown earnings per share (EPS) by 16% each year (using a line of best fit). It achieved revenue growth of 19% over the last year.
This demonstrates that the company has been improving recently. A good result. It's a real positive to see this sort of growth in a single year. That suggests a healthy and growing business. You might want to check this free visual report on analyst forecasts for future earnings.
Has TriCo Bancshares Been A Good Investment?
TriCo Bancshares has not done too badly by shareholders, with a total return of 6.6%, 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...
We compared the total CEO remuneration paid by TriCo Bancshares, and compared it to remuneration at a group of similar sized companies. We found that it pays well over the median amount paid in the benchmark group.
However, the earnings per share growth over three years is certainly impressive. Looking at the same time period, we think that the shareholder returns are respectable. You might wish to research management further, but on this analysis, considering the EPS growth, we wouldn't call the CEO pay problematic. Whatever your view on compensation, you might want to check if insiders are buying or selling TriCo Bancshares shares (free trial).
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.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.
