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

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Citizens Community Bancorp and SB Financial Group, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	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 presently has a consensus price target of $23.50, indicating a potential downside of 0.04%. SB Financial Group has a consensus price target of $32.00, indicating a potential upside of 10.63%. Given SB Financial Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe SB Financial Group is more favorable than Citizens Community Bancorp.

Insider and Institutional 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, 5.9% 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.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Citizens Community Bancorp and SB Financial Group”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Citizens Community Bancorp	$65.39 million	3.43	$14.42 million	$1.50	15.67
SB Financial Group	$69.86 million	2.59	$13.97 million	$2.67	10.83

Citizens Community Bancorp has higher earnings, but lower revenue 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.

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%

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 $0.66 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. Citizens Community Bancorp pays out 32.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. SB Financial Group pays out 24.7% 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. 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.

Volatility and Risk

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

Summary

SB Financial Group beats Citizens Community Bancorp on 13 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, the company provides community banking services to individuals, families, farmers and businesses. The bank offers deposit products such as checking, savings, money market and certificate accounts, along with lending services. Its loan portfolio includes residential and commercial real estate, agricultural, commercial and industrial, and consumer loans.

About SB Financial Group

SB Financial Group, Inc. is a financial holding company headquartered in Defiance, Ohio. Through its principal subsidiary, The State Bank and Trust Company, the company provides community banking services to individuals, families, businesses and organizations. The State Bank and Trust Company offers deposit accounts, commercial and consumer lending, residential and commercial real estate financing, treasury management and other traditional banking products. The company also provides trust, investment management and wealth management services, along with mortgage banking and related financial services.