Financial Analysis: Citizens Financial Services (NASDAQ:CZFS) and BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ) (NASDAQ:BCBP)

BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ) (NASDAQ:BCBP) and Citizens Financial Services (NASDAQ:CZFS) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, risk, dividends and valuation.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ) and Citizens Financial Services”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ)	$196.95 million	0.71	$18.62 million	$0.05	163.40
Citizens Financial Services	$169.72 million	1.64	$27.82 million	$7.13	8.13

Citizens Financial Services has lower revenue, but higher earnings than BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ). Citizens Financial Services is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ), indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

36.0% of BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ) shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 22.5% of Citizens Financial Services shares are owned by institutional investors. 13.9% of BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ) shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.1% of Citizens Financial Services shares are owned by company 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.

Dividends

BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ) pays an annual dividend of $0.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.8%. Citizens Financial Services pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ) pays out 1,280.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Citizens Financial Services pays out 28.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ) and Citizens Financial Services, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ)	1	3	0	0	1.75
Citizens Financial Services	0	2	0	1	2.67

BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ) currently has a consensus target price of $9.25, indicating a potential upside of 13.22%. Given BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ)’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ) is more favorable than Citizens Financial Services.

Volatility & Risk

BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ) has a beta of 0.77, suggesting that its share price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Citizens Financial Services has a beta of 0.46, suggesting that its share price is 54% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ) and Citizens Financial Services’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ)	1.50%	0.95%	0.08%
Citizens Financial Services	19.80%	10.91%	1.13%

Summary

Citizens Financial Services beats BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ) on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ)

BCB Bancorp, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for BCB Community Bank that engages in the provision of banking products and services to businesses and individuals in the United States. The company offers insured deposit products, including savings and club accounts, interest and non-interest-bearing demand accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts. It also provides various loan products, such as commercial and multi-family real estate loans, one-to-four family mortgage loans, commercial business loans, construction loans, home equity loans, and consumer loans. In addition, the company offers retail and commercial banking services comprising wire transfer, money order, safe deposit box, night depository, debit card, online and mobile banking, fraud detection, and automated teller services. The company was founded in 2000 and is based in Bayonne, New Jersey.

About Citizens Financial Services

Citizens Financial Services, Inc., a bank holding company, provides various banking products and services for individual, business, governmental, and institutional customers. The company accepts various deposit products, such as checking, savings, and time deposit accounts. Its loan products include residential, commercial, and agricultural real estate loans; commercial and industrial loans; state and political subdivision loans; and consumer loans, as well as various other specialized financial services. The company also provides professional trust administration, investment management services, estate planning and administration, custody of securities, and individual retirement accounts. In addition, it offers brokerage and financial planning services, as well as assistance in various oil and gas leasing matters; and provides mutual funds, annuities, and health and life insurance products. Citizens Financial Services, Inc. was incorporated in 1984 and is headquartered in Mansfield, Pennsylvania.