Analyzing Fvcbankcorp (NASDAQ:FVCB) and Citizens Bancshares (OTCMKTS:CZBS)

Citizens Bancshares (OTCMKTS:CZBS) and Fvcbankcorp (NASDAQ:FVCB) 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, earnings, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Dividends

Citizens Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. Fvcbankcorp pays an annual dividend of $0.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. Fvcbankcorp pays out 21.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Citizens Bancshares and Fvcbankcorp, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Citizens Bancshares	0	0	0	0	0.00
Fvcbankcorp	0	1	2	0	2.67

Fvcbankcorp has a consensus price target of $19.00, suggesting a potential upside of 20.41%. Given Fvcbankcorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Fvcbankcorp is more favorable than Citizens Bancshares.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

43.6% of Fvcbankcorp shares are held by institutional investors. 10.2% of Citizens Bancshares shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 11.2% of Fvcbankcorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Citizens Bancshares and Fvcbankcorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Citizens Bancshares	N/A	N/A	N/A
Fvcbankcorp	18.85%	9.33%	1.02%

Volatility & Risk

Citizens Bancshares has a beta of 0.29, suggesting that its stock price is 71% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Fvcbankcorp has a beta of 0.36, suggesting that its stock price is 64% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Citizens Bancshares and Fvcbankcorp”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Citizens Bancshares	$44.60 million	2.04	$10.59 million	N/A	N/A
Fvcbankcorp	$122.03 million	2.33	$22.06 million	$1.28	12.33

Fvcbankcorp has higher revenue and earnings than Citizens Bancshares.

Summary

Fvcbankcorp beats Citizens Bancshares on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Citizens Bancshares

Citizens Bancshares Corporation operates as the holding company for Citizens Trust Bank that provides various commercial banking services to individual and corporate customers. The company offers checking and savings accounts; and demand and money market deposits. Its loan products include commercial, financial, and agricultural loans; loans secured by personal property, such as automobiles, marketable securities, and other titled recreational vehicles and motorcycles, as well as unsecured consumer debt; commercial real estate loans; single-family residential loans; and construction and development loans. The company also offers investment accounts and certificate of deposit account registry services. In addition, it provides merchant services, which include point of sale terminal, credit and debit card processing, electronic benefits transfer, gift card, and Internet shopping cart services; cash management services; and credit cards. Further, the company offers online and mobile banking, as well as check reorder services. Citizens Bancshares Corporation was founded in 1921 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

About Fvcbankcorp

FVCBankcorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for FVCbank that provides various banking products and services in Virginia. It offers deposit products, including interest and noninterest-bearing transaction accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit. The company also provides commercial real estate loans; commercial construction loans; commercial loans for various business purposes, such as for working capital, equipment purchases, lines of credit, and government contract financing; small business administration loans; asset-based loans and accounts receivable financing; home equity loans; and consumer loans. In addition, it offers business and consumer credit cards; merchant services; business insurance products; and online banking, remote deposit, and mobile banking services. The company serves commercial businesses, nonprofit organizations, professional service entities, and their respective owners and employees located in the greater Washington, D.C., and Baltimore metropolitan areas. It operates branch offices in Arlington, Virginia; the independent city of Manassas, Virginia; Reston, Fairfax County, Virginia; Springfield, Fairfax County in Virginia; and Montgomery County and Baltimore in Maryland, and Washington, D.C. FVCBankcorp, Inc. was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia.