Head-To-Head Analysis: Citizens Community Bancorp (NASDAQ:CZWI) versus SB Financial Group (NASDAQ:SBFG)

Citizens Community Bancorp (NASDAQ:CZWI) and SB Financial Group (NASDAQ:SBFG) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Citizens Community Bancorp and SB Financial Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Citizens Community Bancorp	14.56%	7.64%	0.81%
SB Financial Group	17.17%	11.46%	1.03%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Citizens Community Bancorp and SB Financial Group”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Citizens Community Bancorp	$98.77 million	2.30	$14.42 million	$1.50	15.88
SB Financial Group	$91.03 million	2.04	$13.97 million	$2.67	11.15

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

Dividends

Citizens Community Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. SB Financial Group pays an annual dividend of $0.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Citizens Community Bancorp pays out 32.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. SB Financial Group pays out 24.0% 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. Citizens Community Bancorp has raised its dividend for 6 consecutive years and SB Financial Group has raised its dividend for 12 consecutive years. SB Financial Group is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

55.1% of Citizens Community Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 66.7% of SB Financial Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.1% of Citizens Community Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.0% of SB Financial Group shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Citizens Community Bancorp and SB Financial Group, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Citizens Community Bancorp	0	4	1	0	2.20
SB Financial Group	0	2	0	1	2.67

Citizens Community Bancorp currently has a consensus target price of $23.50, suggesting a potential downside of 1.34%. SB Financial Group has a consensus target price of $32.00, suggesting a potential upside of 7.53%. Given SB Financial Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe SB Financial Group is more favorable than Citizens Community Bancorp.

Volatility & Risk

Citizens Community Bancorp has a beta of 0.51, suggesting that its stock price is 49% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SB Financial Group has a beta of 0.18, suggesting that its stock price is 82% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

SB Financial Group beats Citizens Community Bancorp on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Citizens Community Bancorp

Citizens Community Bancorp, Inc. is a bank holding company headquartered in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Through its subsidiary, Citizens Community Federal National Association, it provides community banking services to individuals, businesses and organizations in Wisconsin and Minnesota. The bank offers deposit accounts, including checking, savings and certificates of deposit, along with lending services. Its loan offerings include commercial, agricultural, residential real estate and consumer loans.

About SB Financial Group

SB Financial Group, Inc. is a bank holding company headquartered in Defiance, Ohio. Its principal subsidiary, State Bank and Trust Company, provides community banking services to individuals, businesses and organizations. The company offers deposit accounts, consumer and commercial loans, mortgage lending and other banking services. Through its affiliated businesses, it also provides wealth management and insurance services. SB Financial Group serves communities in northwest Ohio and northeast Indiana.