ACNB (NASDAQ:ACNB) versus First Business Financial Services (NASDAQ:FBIZ) Critical Comparison

ACNB (NASDAQ:ACNB) and First Business Financial Services (NASDAQ:FBIZ) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Dividends

ACNB pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. First Business Financial Services pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. ACNB pays out 34.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Business Financial Services pays out 23.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. ACNB has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years and First Business Financial Services has increased its dividend for 12 consecutive years.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for ACNB and First Business Financial Services, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ACNB	0	3	0	0	2.00
First Business Financial Services	0	0	2	0	3.00

ACNB currently has a consensus price target of $42.33, suggesting a potential upside of 23.93%. First Business Financial Services has a consensus price target of $40.33, suggesting a potential upside of 17.80%. Given ACNB’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe ACNB is more favorable than First Business Financial Services.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

32.4% of ACNB shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 60.1% of First Business Financial Services shares are held by institutional investors. 3.6% of ACNB shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.3% of First Business Financial Services shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk & Volatility

ACNB has a beta of 0.6, indicating that its share price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Business Financial Services has a beta of 0.78, indicating that its share price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares ACNB and First Business Financial Services’ gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ACNB	$115.08 million	2.53	$31.69 million	$3.46	9.87
First Business Financial Services	$226.24 million	1.26	$37.03 million	$4.34	7.89

First Business Financial Services has higher revenue and earnings than ACNB. First Business Financial Services is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than ACNB, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares ACNB and First Business Financial Services’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ACNB	24.98%	11.18%	1.23%
First Business Financial Services	15.48%	13.72%	1.09%

Summary

First Business Financial Services beats ACNB on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ACNB

ACNB Corporation, a financial holding company, offers banking, insurance, and financial services to individual, business, and government customers in the United States. The company provides checking, savings, and money market deposit accounts, as well as time deposits and debit cards. It also offers commercial lending products, such as commercial mortgages, real estate development and construction loans, accounts receivable and inventory financing, and agricultural and governmental loans; consumer lending products, including home equity loans and lines of credit, automobile and recreational vehicle loans, manufactured housing loans, and personal lines of credit; and mortgage lending programs include personal residential mortgages, and residential construction and investment mortgage loans. In addition, the company provides other services that are related to testamentary trusts, life insurance trusts, charitable remainder trusts, guardianships, powers of attorney, custodial accounts, and investment management and advisory accounts; and retail brokerage services. Further, it acts as a trustee to invest in, protect, manage, and distribute financial assets. Additionally, the company offers property and casualty, health, life, and disability insurance products to commercial and personal clients; and online, telephone, and mobile banking, as well as automated teller machine services. ACNB Corporation was founded in 1857 and is headquartered in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

About First Business Financial Services

First Business Financial Services, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for First Business Bank that provides commercial banking products and services for small and medium-sized businesses, business owners, executives, professionals, and high net worth individuals in Wisconsin, Kansas, and Missouri. The company offers real estate lending, commercial and industrial lending, asset-based lending, accounts receivable financing, equipment financing loans and leases, floorplan financing, vendor financing, small business administration lending and servicing, treasury management solutions, and company retirement services. It also provides private wealth management for individuals, including creating and executing asset allocation strategies, trust and estate administration, financial planning, investment management, and access to brokerage and custody-only services. In addition, the company offers bank consulting consisting of investment portfolio administrative and asset liability management services, and commercial deposit accounts. The company was founded in 1909 and is headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin.