Comparing Ohio Valley Banc (NASDAQ:OVBC) and Civista Bancshares (NASDAQ:CIVB)

Ohio Valley Banc (NASDAQ:OVBC) and Civista Bancshares (NASDAQ:CIVB) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, risk and earnings.

Dividends

Ohio Valley Banc pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. Civista Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Ohio Valley Banc pays out 30.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Civista Bancshares pays out 26.7% 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. Ohio Valley Banc has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years and Civista Bancshares has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years. Civista Bancshares is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

22.1% of Ohio Valley Banc shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 52.1% of Civista Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. 7.2% of Ohio Valley Banc shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.6% of Civista Bancshares shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Ohio Valley Banc and Civista Bancshares, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ohio Valley Banc	0	0	1	0	3.00
Civista Bancshares	0	4	3	0	2.43

Civista Bancshares has a consensus price target of $29.00, indicating a potential upside of 1.22%. Given Civista Bancshares’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Civista Bancshares is more favorable than Ohio Valley Banc.

Profitability

This table compares Ohio Valley Banc and Civista Bancshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ohio Valley Banc	16.05%	9.29%	0.98%
Civista Bancshares	20.79%	10.82%	1.35%

Volatility and Risk

Ohio Valley Banc has a beta of 0.03, meaning that its share price is 97% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Civista Bancshares has a beta of 0.67, meaning that its share price is 33% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Ohio Valley Banc and Civista Bancshares”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ohio Valley Banc	$68.11 million	2.96	$15.60 million	$3.28	13.05
Civista Bancshares	$254.95 million	2.34	$46.21 million	$2.70	10.61

Civista Bancshares has higher revenue and earnings than Ohio Valley Banc. Civista Bancshares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ohio Valley Banc, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Civista Bancshares beats Ohio Valley Banc on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ohio Valley Banc

Ohio Valley Banc Corp. operates as the bank holding company for The Ohio Valley Bank Company that provides commercial and consumer banking products and services. The company operates in two segments, Banking and Consumer Finance. It accepts various deposit products, including checking, savings, time, and money market accounts, as well as individual retirement accounts, demand deposits, NOW accounts, and certificates of deposit. The company also provides various residential real estate loans, including one-to four-family residential mortgages; commercial loans for securing equipment, inventory, stock, commercial real estate, and rental property; and consumer loans secured by automobiles, mobile homes, recreational vehicles, and other personal property, as well as personal loans, unsecured credit card receivables, floor plan and student loans, and construction loans. In addition, it offers safe deposit box, wire transfer, credit card, home equity loans, and Internet banking services; and financial management online services, such as cash management and news updates related to repossession auctions, current rates, and general bank news. Further, the company provides automatic teller machines (ATMs), consumer finance, seasonal tax preparation, commercial property, and various liability insurance services, as well as trust and online-only consumer direct mortgage services. The company owns and operates ATMs, including off-site ATMs. It operates offices in Ohio and West Virginia. The company was founded in 1872 and is based in Gallipolis, Ohio.

About Civista Bancshares

Civista Bancshares, Inc. operates as the financial holding company for Civista Bank that provides community banking services. It collects a range of customer deposits; and offers commercial and agriculture, commercial and residential real estate, farm real estate, real estate construction, consumer, and other loans, as well as letters of credit. The company also holds and manages securities portfolio; leases general equipment; and provides captive insurance products. It operates in North Central, West Central, South Western Ohio, South Eastern Indiana, and Northern Kentucky. The company was formerly known as First Citizens Banc Corp and changed its name to Civista Bancshares, Inc. in May 2015. Civista Bancshares, Inc. was founded in 1884 and is headquartered in Sandusky, Ohio.