Reviewing AmeriServ Financial (NASDAQ:ASRV) and Cib Marine Bancshares (OTCMKTS:CIBH)

AmeriServ Financial (NASDAQ:ASRV) and Cib Marine Bancshares (OTCMKTS:CIBH) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares AmeriServ Financial and Cib Marine Bancshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
AmeriServ Financial	6.20%	4.72%	0.38%
Cib Marine Bancshares	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for AmeriServ Financial and Cib Marine Bancshares, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
AmeriServ Financial	0	0	1	0	3.00
Cib Marine Bancshares	0	0	0	0	0.00

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares AmeriServ Financial and Cib Marine Bancshares”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
AmeriServ Financial	$88.34 million	0.73	$5.61 million	$0.33	11.55
Cib Marine Bancshares	$50.14 million	1.08	$1.80 million	$1.32	30.30

AmeriServ Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Cib Marine Bancshares. AmeriServ Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Cib Marine Bancshares, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

31.5% of AmeriServ Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.6% of AmeriServ Financial shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

AmeriServ Financial has a beta of 0.45, indicating that its share price is 55% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cib Marine Bancshares has a beta of 0.24, indicating that its share price is 76% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

AmeriServ Financial beats Cib Marine Bancshares on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About AmeriServ Financial

AmeriServ Financial, Inc. is a holding company, which engages in the provision of consumer, mortgage and commercial financial products and services through its subsidiary. It operates through the following segments: Community Banking, Wealth Management, and Investment or Parent. The Community Banking segment includes both retail and commercial banking activities. The Wealth Management segment involves in the operations of a Trust Company, West Chester Capital Advisors an investment advisory firm, and Financial Services. The Investment or Parent segment offers investment securities, borrowing activities, and general corporate expenses. The company was founded in January 1983 and is headquartered in Johnstown, PA.

About Cib Marine Bancshares

CIB Marine Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for CIBM Bank that provides commercial banking services to individual and business customers in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin. It provides deposit accounts comprising checking, savings, and time deposits. The company offers a range of loan products, such as commercial, commercial real estate, commercial and residential construction, government guaranteed, one-to-four family residential real estate, home equity, and consumer loans, as well as commercial and standby letters of credit. In addition, it provides trust services; cash management; repurchase agreements; mortgage; and other banking services. Further, the company invests in securities. The company was formerly known as Central Illinois Bancorp, Inc. and changed its name to CIB Marine Bancshares, Inc. in August 1999. CIB Marine Bancshares, Inc. was incorporated in 1985 and is based in Brookfield, Wisconsin.