Contrasting Citizens Financial Services (NASDAQ:CZFS) and Patriot National Bancorp (NASDAQ:PNBK)

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

Profitability

This table compares Patriot National Bancorp and Citizens Financial Services’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Patriot National Bancorp	-35.17%	-37.63%	-2.08%
Citizens Financial Services	21.08%	11.55%	1.21%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Patriot National Bancorp and Citizens Financial Services”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Patriot National Bancorp	$60.72 million	2.44	-$39.88 million	($2.70)	-0.48
Citizens Financial Services	$173.51 million	1.64	$36.57 million	$7.63	7.73

Citizens Financial Services has higher revenue and earnings than Patriot National Bancorp. Patriot National Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Citizens Financial Services, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk and Volatility

Patriot National Bancorp has a beta of -0.68, indicating that its stock price is 168% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Citizens Financial Services has a beta of 0.42, indicating that its stock price is 58% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for Patriot National Bancorp and Citizens Financial Services, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Patriot National Bancorp	1	0	0	0	1.00
Citizens Financial Services	0	2	0	1	2.67

Insider & Institutional Ownership

39.3% of Patriot National Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 22.5% of Citizens Financial Services shares are held by institutional investors. 11.0% of Patriot National Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.1% of Citizens Financial Services shares are held 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.

Summary

Citizens Financial Services beats Patriot National Bancorp on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Patriot National Bancorp

Patriot National Bancorp, Inc. operates as the holding company for Patriot Bank, N.A. that provides community banking services to individuals, small and medium-sized businesses, and professionals. The company accepts consumer and commercial deposit accounts, such as checking, interest-bearing negotiable order of withdrawal, money market, time certificates of deposit, savings, prepaid deposit, on-line national money market, individual retirement accounts, and health savings accounts, as well as certificate of deposit account registry service. Its loan portfolio comprises commercial real estate, commercial business, small business administration, construction, purchased residential real estate, and various consumer loans. The company also offers automated clearing house transfers, lockbox, internet banking, bill payment, remote deposit capture, debit card, money order, traveler's check, and automatic teller machine services. Patriot National Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut.

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.