Citizens Community Bancorp (NASDAQ:CZWI – Get Free Report) and Banner (NASDAQ:BANR – Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership and profitability.
Dividends
Citizens Community Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Banner pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Citizens Community Bancorp pays out 27.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Banner pays out 36.4% 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 increased its dividend for 6 consecutive years.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Citizens Community Bancorp and Banner, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Citizens Community Bancorp | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3.00 |
| Banner | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2.50 |
Insider & Institutional Ownership
55.1% of Citizens Community Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.3% of Banner shares are held by institutional investors. 3.9% of Citizens Community Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.7% of Banner shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Profitability
This table compares Citizens Community Bancorp and Banner’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Citizens Community Bancorp | 13.08% | 7.05% | 0.74% |
| Banner | 21.80% | 10.32% | 1.17% |
Risk and Volatility
Citizens Community Bancorp has a beta of 0.79, suggesting that its stock price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Banner has a beta of 0.96, suggesting that its stock price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Citizens Community Bancorp and Banner”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Citizens Community Bancorp | $99.72 million | 1.67 | $13.75 million | $1.29 | 13.35 |
| Banner | $647.40 million | 3.31 | $168.90 million | $5.49 | 11.44 |
Banner has higher revenue and earnings than Citizens Community Bancorp. Banner 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.
Summary
Banner beats Citizens Community Bancorp on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Citizens Community Bancorp
Citizens Community Bancorp, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for Citizens Community Federal N.A. that provides various traditional community banking services to businesses, agricultural operators, and consumers. It accepts various deposit products, including demand deposits, savings and money market accounts, and certificates of deposit. The company also offers various loan products, such as commercial real estate, commercial and industrial, agricultural real estate, agricultural operating, and consumer loans; and one-to-four family residential mortgages and home equity lines-of-credit. In addition, it maintains a portfolio of investments comprising mortgage-backed, corporate asset-backed, U.S. Government sponsored agency, and corporate debt securities. Citizens Community Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1938 and is based in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
About Banner
Banner Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Banner Bank that engages in the provision of commercial banking and financial products and services to individuals, businesses, and public sector entities in the United States. It accepts various deposit instruments, including interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing checking accounts, money market deposit accounts, regular savings accounts, and certificates of deposit, as well as treasury management services and retirement savings plans. The company also provides commercial real estate loans, including owner-occupied, investment properties, and multifamily residential real estate loans; construction, land, and land development loans; one- to four-family residential real estate lending; commercial business loans; agricultural loans; consumer and other loans, such as home equity lines of credit, automobile, and boat and recreational vehicle loans, as well as loans secured by deposit accounts; and small business administration loans. In addition, it provides electronic and digital banking services comprising debit cards and ATMs, internet banking, remote deposit, and mobile banking services. The company was founded in 1890 and is based in Walla Walla, Washington.
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