Contrasting Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC) and Susquehanna Bancshares (NASDAQ:SUSQ)

Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC) and Susquehanna Bancshares (NASDAQ:SUSQ) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, profitability, risk and dividends.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Nicolet Bankshares and Susquehanna Bancshares, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Nicolet Bankshares	0	3	1	0	2.25
Susquehanna Bancshares	0	0	0	0	0.00

Nicolet Bankshares currently has a consensus target price of $119.25, suggesting a potential downside of 1.62%. Given Susquehanna Bancshares’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Susquehanna Bancshares is more favorable than Nicolet Bankshares.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

43.1% of Nicolet Bankshares shares are held by institutional investors. 16.4% of Nicolet Bankshares shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Nicolet Bankshares and Susquehanna Bancshares”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Nicolet Bankshares	$356.32 million	5.13	$124.06 million	$8.29	14.62
Susquehanna Bancshares	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Nicolet Bankshares has higher revenue and earnings than Susquehanna Bancshares.

Profitability

This table compares Nicolet Bankshares and Susquehanna Bancshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Nicolet Bankshares	23.83%	10.95%	1.41%
Susquehanna Bancshares	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

Nicolet Bankshares beats Susquehanna Bancshares on 8 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Nicolet Bankshares

Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Nicolet National Bank that provides banking products and services for businesses and individuals in Wisconsin and Michigan. The company accepts checking, savings, and money market accounts; various certificates of deposit; and individual retirement accounts. It also offers commercial loans, including commercial, industrial, and business loans and lines of credit; commercial real estate loans; agricultural (AG) production and AG real estate loans; commercial real estate investment real estate loans; construction and land development loans; residential real estate loans, such as residential first lien and junior lien mortgages, home equity loans, lines of credit, and residential construction loans; and consumer loans. In addition, the company provides cash management, international banking, personal brokerage, safe deposit boxes, and trust and fiduciary services, as well as wealth management and retirement plan services. Further, it offers mortgage refinancing; online services, such as commercial, retail, and trust online banking; automated bill payment, mobile banking deposits and account access, and remote deposit capture services; and other services consisting of wire transfers, debit cards, credit cards, pre-paid gift cards, direct deposits, and official bank checks, as well as facilitates crop insurance products. The company was formerly known as Green Bay Financial Corporation and changed its name to Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. in March 2002. The company was incorporated in 2000 and is headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

About Susquehanna Bancshares

Susquehanna Bancshares, Inc. is a financial holding company. The Company conducts its business operations primarily through its commercial bank subsidiary, Susquehanna Bank, and other subsidiaries in the mid-Atlantic region to provide a range of retail and commercial banking and financial products and services. It provides a range of retail banking services, including checking, savings and club accounts, check cards, debit cards, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, individual retirement accounts, home equity lines of credit, residential mortgage loans, home improvement loans, automobile loans, personal loans, and internet and mobile banking services. It also provides a range of commercial banking services, including business checking accounts, cash management services, money market accounts, land acquisition and development loans, commercial loans, floor plan, equipment and working capital lines of credit, small business loans and internet banking services.