Citizens Community Bancorp (NASDAQ:CZWI – Get Free Report) and Pathfinder Bancorp (NASDAQ:PBHC – Get Free Report) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation and profitability.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
55.1% of Citizens Community Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 26.7% of Pathfinder Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 4.1% of Citizens Community Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 15.4% of Pathfinder Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Citizens Community Bancorp and Pathfinder Bancorp”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Citizens Community Bancorp | $98.77 million | 2.04 | $14.42 million | $1.53 | 13.68 |
| Pathfinder Bancorp | $79.15 million | 0.83 | -$1.93 million | ($0.63) | -21.37 |
Citizens Community Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Pathfinder Bancorp. Pathfinder Bancorp 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.
Volatility & Risk
Citizens Community Bancorp has a beta of 0.54, meaning that its share price is 46% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Pathfinder Bancorp has a beta of 0.18, meaning that its share price is 82% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Citizens Community Bancorp and Pathfinder Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Citizens Community Bancorp | 15.02% | 8.00% | 0.85% |
| Pathfinder Bancorp | -4.96% | -3.20% | -0.27% |
Dividends
Citizens Community Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.42 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Pathfinder Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Citizens Community Bancorp pays out 27.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Pathfinder Bancorp pays out -63.5% 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 Pathfinder Bancorp has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Pathfinder Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of current recommendations for Citizens Community Bancorp and Pathfinder Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Citizens Community Bancorp | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.50 |
| Pathfinder Bancorp | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.00 |
Summary
Citizens Community Bancorp beats Pathfinder Bancorp on 13 of the 16 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 Pathfinder Bancorp
Pathfinder Bancorp, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for Pathfinder Bank that provides various banking and financial products and services in New York. The company's deposit products include checking, savings, and money market deposit accounts; certificates of deposit; and demand and time deposits. Its loan portfolio comprises commercial real estate, commercial, residential real estate, construction, and tax-exempt loans; home equity loans and junior liens; and consumer loans comprising automobile, recreational vehicles, and unsecured personal loans, as well as unsecured lines of credit and loans secured by deposit accounts. The company is also involved in the property, casualty, and life insurance brokerage business. It primarily serves individuals, families, small to mid-size businesses, and municipalities. The company was founded in 1859 and is headquartered in Oswego, New York.
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