Critical Review: Citizens & Northern (NASDAQ:CZNC) & Town and Country Financial (OTCMKTS:TWCF)

Town and Country Financial (OTCMKTS:TWCF) and Citizens & Northern (NASDAQ:CZNC) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Town and Country Financial and Citizens & Northern’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Town and Country Financial	N/A	N/A	N/A
Citizens & Northern	16.81%	9.75%	1.06%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

30.8% of Citizens & Northern shares are held by institutional investors. 4.5% of Citizens & Northern shares are held 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.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Town and Country Financial and Citizens & Northern”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Town and Country Financial	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Citizens & Northern	$120.84 million	3.35	$25.96 million	$1.76	12.93

Citizens & Northern has higher revenue and earnings than Town and Country Financial.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for Town and Country Financial and Citizens & Northern, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Town and Country Financial	0	0	0	0	0.00
Citizens & Northern	0	2	1	1	2.75

Citizens & Northern has a consensus price target of $23.50, indicating a potential upside of 3.25%. Given Citizens & Northern’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Citizens & Northern is more favorable than Town and Country Financial.

Summary

Citizens & Northern beats Town and Country Financial on 10 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Town and Country Financial

Town & Country Financial Corp. is a bank holding company, which engages in the provision of banking and financial services. It offers loans, investments, deposits, and cash management operations. Its has offices in Buffalo, Decatur, Edwardsville, Fairview Heights, Jacksonville, Lincoln, Mt. Zion, Springfield, and Quincy. The company was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Springfield, IL.

About Citizens & Northern

Citizens & Northern Corp. is a holding company, which engages in community banking. It provides a full range of banking and mortgage services to individual and corporate customers in North Central Pennsylvania and Southern New York State. The firm’s lending products include mortgage loans, commercial loans, and consumer loans. Its deposit products include various types of checking accounts, passbook and statement savings, money market accounts, interest checking accounts, individual retirement accounts, and certificates of deposit. The company was founded in 1864 and is headquartered in Wellsboro, PA.