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Jean Hale became the CEO of Community Trust Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTBI) in 1999. This report will, first, examine the CEO compensation levels in comparison to CEO compensation at companies of similar size. After that, we will consider the growth in the business. And finally – as a second measure of performance – we will look at the returns shareholders have received over the last few years. The aim of all this is to consider the appropriateness of CEO pay levels.

See our latest analysis for Community Trust Bancorp

How Does Jean Hale’s Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

At the time of writing our data says that Community Trust Bancorp, Inc. has a market cap of US$740m, and is paying total annual CEO compensation of US$1.0m. (This figure is for the year to 2017). While we always look at total compensation first, we note that the salary component is less, at US$598k. When we examined a selection of companies with market caps ranging from US$400m to US$1.6b, we found the median CEO compensation was US$2.2m.

Most shareholders would consider it a positive that Jean Hale takes less compensation than the CEOs of most similar size companies, leaving more for shareholders. Though positive, it’s important we delve into the performance of the actual business.

You can see, below, how CEO compensation at Community Trust Bancorp has changed over time.

Is Community Trust Bancorp, Inc. Growing?

On average over the last three years, Community Trust Bancorp, Inc. has grown earnings per share (EPS) by 8.6% each year (using a line of best fit). It achieved revenue growth of 6.8% over the last year.

I’m not particularly impressed by the revenue growth, but it is good to see modest EPS growth. So there are some positives here, but not enough to earn high praise. Shareholders might be interested in this free visualization of analyst forecasts.

Has Community Trust Bancorp, Inc. Been A Good Investment?

Most shareholders would probably be pleased with Community Trust Bancorp, Inc. for providing a total return of 35% over three years. This strong performance might mean some shareholders don’t mind if the CEO were to be paid more than is normal for a company of its size.

In Summary…

It appears that Community Trust Bancorp, Inc. remunerates its CEO below most similar sized companies.

Jean Hale is paid less than what is normal at similar size companies, and the total shareholder return has been pleasing over the last three years. We would like to see EPS growth, but in our view it seems the CEO is modestly remunerated. CEO compensation is one thing, but it is also interesting to check if the CEO is buying or selling Community Trust Bancorp (free visualization of insider trades).