Here's Why Community Trust Bancorp, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:CTBI) CEO Might See A Pay Rise Soon

Key Insights

• Community Trust Bancorp's Annual General Meeting to take place on 23rd of April
• Salary of US$653.5k is part of CEO Mark Gooch's total remuneration
• The total compensation is 42% less than the average for the industry
• Over the past three years, Community Trust Bancorp's EPS grew by 8.9% and over the past three years, the total shareholder return was 1.9%

Shareholders will be pleased by the robust performance of Community Trust Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTBI) recently and this will be kept in mind in the upcoming AGM on 23rd of April. This would also be a chance for them to hear the board review the financial results, discuss future company strategy to further improve the business and vote on any resolutions such as executive remuneration. Here is our take on why we think CEO compensation is fair and may even warrant a raise.

Check out our latest analysis for Community Trust Bancorp

How Does Total Compensation For Mark Gooch Compare With Other Companies In The Industry?

Our data indicates that Community Trust Bancorp, Inc. has a market capitalization of US$719m, and total annual CEO compensation was reported as US$1.1m for the year to December 2023. Notably, that's a decrease of 29% over the year before. Notably, the salary which is US$653.5k, represents a considerable chunk of the total compensation being paid.

On examining similar-sized companies in the American Banks industry with market capitalizations between US$400m and US$1.6b, we discovered that the median CEO total compensation of that group was US$2.0m. That is to say, Mark Gooch is paid under the industry median. Moreover, Mark Gooch also holds US$3.2m worth of Community Trust Bancorp stock directly under their own name, which reveals to us that they have a significant personal stake in the company.

Component	2023	2022	Proportion (2023)
Salary	US$654k	US$619k	57%
Other	US$483k	US$973k	43%
Total Compensation	US$1.1m	US$1.6m	100%

On an industry level, around 45% of total compensation represents salary and 55% is other remuneration. According to our research, Community Trust Bancorp has allocated a higher percentage of pay to salary in comparison to the wider industry. If salary dominates total compensation, it suggests that CEO compensation is leaning less towards the variable component, which is usually linked with performance.

A Look at Community Trust Bancorp, Inc.'s Growth Numbers

Community Trust Bancorp, Inc. has seen its earnings per share (EPS) increase by 8.9% a year over the past three years. The trailing twelve months of revenue was pretty much the same as the prior period.

We would argue that the improvement in revenue is good, but isn't particularly impressive, but the modest improvement in EPS is good. It's clear the performance has been quite decent, but it it falls short of outstanding,based on this information. Moving away from current form for a second, it could be important to check this free visual depiction of what analysts expect for the future.

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

With a total shareholder return of 1.9% over three years, Community Trust Bancorp, Inc. has done okay by shareholders, but there's always room for improvement. In light of that, investors might probably want to see an improvement on their returns before they feel generous about increasing the CEO remuneration.

To Conclude...

While the company seems to be headed in the right direction performance-wise, there's always room for improvement. If it continues on the same road, shareholders might feel even more confident about their investment, and have little to no objections concerning CEO pay. Instead, investors might be more interested in discussions that would help manage their longer-term growth expectations such as company business strategies and future growth potential.

While CEO pay is an important factor to be aware of, there are other areas that investors should be mindful of as well. That's why we did some digging and identified 1 warning sign for Community Trust Bancorp that investors should think about before committing capital to this stock.

Switching gears from Community Trust Bancorp, if you're hunting for a pristine balance sheet and premium returns, this free list of high return, low debt companies is a great place to look.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.