Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) and Citizens Bancshares (OTCMKTS:CZBS) Critical Contrast

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) and Citizens Bancshares (OTCMKTS:CZBS) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, dividends and risk.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Southern First Bancshares and Citizens Bancshares”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Southern First Bancshares	$224.62 million	2.37	$30.37 million	$4.28	13.18
Citizens Bancshares	$44.60 million	1.97	$10.59 million	N/A	N/A

Southern First Bancshares has higher revenue and earnings than Citizens Bancshares.

Profitability

This table compares Southern First Bancshares and Citizens Bancshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Southern First Bancshares	15.21%	9.65%	0.79%
Citizens Bancshares	N/A	N/A	N/A

Institutional and Insider Ownership

75.0% of Southern First Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. 6.9% of Southern First Bancshares shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 10.2% of Citizens Bancshares shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

Southern First Bancshares has a beta of 0.68, indicating that its stock price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Citizens Bancshares has a beta of 0.29, indicating that its stock price is 71% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Southern First Bancshares and Citizens Bancshares, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Southern First Bancshares	0	1	2	0	2.67
Citizens Bancshares	0	0	0	0	0.00

Southern First Bancshares currently has a consensus price target of $64.00, suggesting a potential upside of 13.50%. Given Southern First Bancshares’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Southern First Bancshares is more favorable than Citizens Bancshares.

Summary

Southern First Bancshares beats Citizens Bancshares on 11 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Southern First Bancshares

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Southern First Bank that provides commercial, consumer, and mortgage loans to the general public in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia. The company accepts various deposit products that include checking accounts, commercial checking accounts, and savings accounts, as well as other time deposits, including daily money market accounts and long-term certificates of deposit. Its loan portfolio comprises commercial real estate loans; construction real estate loans; commercial business loans for various lines of businesses, such as the manufacturing, service industry, and professional service areas; consumer real estate and home equity loans; and other consumer loans, including secured and unsecured installment loans and revolving lines of credit. In addition, the company provides other bank services, such as internet banking, cash management, safe deposit boxes, direct deposit, automatic drafts, bill payment, and mobile banking services. Southern First Bancshares, Inc. was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina.

About Citizens Bancshares

Citizens Bancshares Corporation operates as the holding company for Citizens Trust Bank that provides various commercial banking services to individual and corporate customers. The company offers checking and savings accounts; and demand and money market deposits. Its loan products include commercial, financial, and agricultural loans; loans secured by personal property, such as automobiles, marketable securities, and other titled recreational vehicles and motorcycles, as well as unsecured consumer debt; commercial real estate loans; single-family residential loans; and construction and development loans. The company also offers investment accounts and certificate of deposit account registry services. In addition, it provides merchant services, which include point of sale terminal, credit and debit card processing, electronic benefits transfer, gift card, and Internet shopping cart services; cash management services; and credit cards. Further, the company offers online and mobile banking, as well as check reorder services. Citizens Bancshares Corporation was founded in 1921 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.