Critical Survey: Community Financial System (NYSE:CBU) versus 9F (NASDAQ:JFU)

Community Financial System (NYSE:CBU) and 9F (NASDAQ:JFU) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership and risk.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

73.8% of Community Financial System shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Community Financial System shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 53.9% of 9F shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Community Financial System and 9F’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Community Financial System	20.72%	11.09%	1.23%
9F	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Community Financial System and 9F, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Community Financial System	0	3	0	0	2.00
9F	0	1	0	0	2.00

Community Financial System currently has a consensus target price of $64.00, suggesting a potential upside of 6.57%. Given Community Financial System’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Community Financial System is more favorable than 9F.

Volatility and Risk

Community Financial System has a beta of 0.79, indicating that its share price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, 9F has a beta of 1.14, indicating that its share price is 14% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Community Financial System and 9F”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Community Financial System	$940.71 million	3.36	$182.48 million	$3.88	15.48
9F	$42.47 million	2.04	$6.85 million	N/A	N/A

Community Financial System has higher revenue and earnings than 9F.

Summary

Community Financial System beats 9F on 8 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Community Financial System

Community Bank System, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Community Bank, N.A. that provides various banking and other financial services to retail, commercial, institutional, and municipal customers. It operates through three segments: Banking, Employee Benefit Services, and All Other. The company offers various deposits products, such as interest and noninterest -bearing checking, savings, and money market deposit accounts, as well as time deposits. It also provides loans, including consumer mortgages; general purpose commercial and industrial loans, and mortgages on commercial properties; paycheck protection program loans; installment loans that are originated through selected dealerships and are secured by automobiles, marine, and other recreational vehicles; personal installment loans and check credit lines of credit for consumers; and home equity products. In addition, the company offers broker-dealer and investment advisory; cash management, investment, and treasury services; asset management services; and employee benefit services, as well as operates as a full-service insurance agency that provides personal and commercial lines of insurance, and other risk management products and services. Further, it offers contribution plan administration, employee benefit trust, collective investment fund, retirement plan administration and benefit consulting, fund administration, transfer agency, actuarial and benefit consulting, and health and welfare consulting services; and act as an investor in residential and commercial real estate activities. Additionally, the company offers wealth management, retirement planning, higher educational planning, fiduciary, risk management, trust, and personal financial planning services; and investment alternatives, including stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and insurance and advisory products, as well as master recordkeeping services. Community Bank System, Inc. was founded in 1866 and is headquartered in DeWitt, New York.

About 9F

9F Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates internet securities service platform in the People's Republic of China. The company operates through three segments: Technology Empowerment Services, E-commerce business, and Wealth Management. Its products include digital financial accounts that offer online lending, wealth management, and payment facilitation services; revolving and non-revolving loan products to borrowers, as well as traffic referral services to financial institution partners; and a suite of online wealth management products, such as fixed income products, stocks, insurance, bank wealth management products, and mutual funds to investors in various platforms, including Wukong Licai, 9F Wallet, and 9F Puhui. The company also provides payment facilitation and other products and services that help users to pay credit card bills and household bills comprising utility bills; and other value-added services consisting of credit history search, debt consolidation, and user referral services. In addition, it offers technology empowerment services to banking, automobile, securities investment, and insurance industries; and engages in E-commerce business, which offers various categories of merchandise, including 3C products, beauty and skin care products, food, household appliances, and liquor and beverages. It provides its services to borrowers, investors, and financial institutions partners. The company was formerly known as JIUFU Financial Technology Service Limited and changed its name to 9F Inc. in June 2014. 9F Inc. was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People's Republic of China.