First Northern Community Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNRN) vs. Citizens Financial Services (NASDAQ:CZFS) Head to Head Review

Citizens Financial Services (NASDAQ:CZFS) and First Northern Community Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNRN) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Citizens Financial Services and First Northern Community Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Citizens Financial Services	0	1	1	1	3.00
First Northern Community Bancorp	0	0	1	0	3.00

Profitability

This table compares Citizens Financial Services and First Northern Community Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Citizens Financial Services	23.31%	12.06%	1.33%
First Northern Community Bancorp	24.97%	10.68%	1.18%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

22.5% of Citizens Financial Services shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 17.9% of First Northern Community Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 5.5% of Citizens Financial Services shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 11.9% of First Northern Community Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Citizens Financial Services and First Northern Community Bancorp”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Citizens Financial Services	$118.11 million	3.24	$36.57 million	$8.55	9.29
First Northern Community Bancorp	$88.40 million	3.21	$21.13 million	$1.35	12.81

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

Summary

Citizens Financial Services beats First Northern Community Bancorp on 8 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Citizens Financial Services

Citizens Financial Services, Inc., a bank holding company, provides various banking products and services for individual, business, governmental, and institutional customers. The company accepts various deposit products, such as checking, savings, and time deposit accounts. Its loan products include residential, commercial, and agricultural real estate loans; commercial and industrial loans; state and political subdivision loans; and consumer loans, as well as various other specialized financial services. The company also provides professional trust administration, investment management services, estate planning and administration, custody of securities, and individual retirement accounts. In addition, it offers brokerage and financial planning services, as well as assistance in various oil and gas leasing matters; and provides mutual funds, annuities, and health and life insurance products. Citizens Financial Services, Inc. was incorporated in 1984 and is headquartered in Mansfield, Pennsylvania.

About First Northern Community Bancorp

First Northern Community Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for First Northern Bank of Dixon that provides commercial banking products and services to individuals, and small to medium sized businesses. The company accepts demand deposits, interest-bearing transaction deposits, savings and money market accounts, and time deposits. Its loan portfolio comprises of commercial, commercial real estate, agriculture, residential mortgage, residential construction, and consumer loans. The company also offers credit cards; investment and brokerage services; alternative investment products, and fiduciary and other financial services; and equipment leasing, merchant card processing, payroll, and international banking services through third parties. In addition, it provides issues cashier’s checks, safe deposit boxes rental, and other customary banking services. The company operates eleven full-service branches located in the cities of Auburn, Davis, Dixon, Fairfield, Rancho Cordova, Roseville, Sacramento, Vacaville, West Sacramento, Winters, and Woodland; a satellite banking office inside a retirement community in the city of Davis; a residential mortgage loan office in Davis; and a commercial loan office in the Contra Costa County city of Walnut Creek. First Northern Community Bancorp was founded in 1910 and is headquartered in Dixon, California.