Civista Bancshares (NASDAQ:CIVB) and Affinity Bancshares (NASDAQ:AFBI) Head-To-Head Comparison

Affinity Bancshares (NASDAQ:AFBI) and Civista Bancshares (NASDAQ:CIVB) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, earnings, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Affinity Bancshares and Civista Bancshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Affinity Bancshares	16.50%	7.51%	1.04%
Civista Bancshares	20.79%	10.65%	1.35%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

39.3% of Affinity Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 52.1% of Civista Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 12.3% of Affinity Bancshares shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.6% of Civista Bancshares shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Affinity Bancshares and Civista Bancshares”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Affinity Bancshares	$33.36 million	4.20	$8.33 million	$1.37	16.79
Civista Bancshares	$254.95 million	2.17	$46.21 million	$2.70	9.84

Civista Bancshares has higher revenue and earnings than Affinity Bancshares. Civista Bancshares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Affinity Bancshares, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

Affinity Bancshares has a beta of 0.13, suggesting that its stock price is 87% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Civista Bancshares has a beta of 0.66, suggesting that its stock price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Affinity Bancshares and Civista Bancshares, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Affinity Bancshares	0	0	1	0	3.00
Civista Bancshares	0	3	3	0	2.50

Civista Bancshares has a consensus target price of $30.25, suggesting a potential upside of 13.85%. Given Civista Bancshares’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Civista Bancshares is more favorable than Affinity Bancshares.

Summary

Civista Bancshares beats Affinity Bancshares on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Affinity Bancshares

Affinity Bancshares, Inc. operates as the holding company for Affinity Bank that provides various banking products and services in Georgia. The company offers various deposit accounts, including savings accounts, checking accounts, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts, as well as Kasasa (rewards) deposit program for checking accounts with interest rates or cash-back rewards. It offers commercial and residential real estate, commercial and industrial, residential mortgage, construction and land, and consumer loans, as well as balloon and adjustable-rate loans. In addition, the company invests in U.S. treasury securities; securities issued by the U.S. government and its agencies, or government sponsored enterprises, including mortgage-backed securities and collateralized mortgage obligations; corporate and municipal bonds; certificates of deposit in other financial institutions; and federal and money market funds. Further, it operates a virtual bank under the name FitnessBank, which accepts deposits and provides higher interest rates based on customers meeting certain fitness goals. Affinity Bancshares, Inc. was founded in 1928 and is headquartered in Covington, Georgia.

About Civista Bancshares

Civista Bancshares, Inc. operates as the financial holding company for Civista Bank that provides community banking services. It collects a range of customer deposits; and offers commercial and agriculture, commercial and residential real estate, farm real estate, real estate construction, consumer, and other loans, as well as letters of credit. The company also holds and manages securities portfolio; leases general equipment; and provides captive insurance products. It operates in North Central, West Central, South Western Ohio, South Eastern Indiana, and Northern Kentucky. The company was formerly known as First Citizens Banc Corp and changed its name to Civista Bancshares, Inc. in May 2015. Civista Bancshares, Inc. was founded in 1884 and is headquartered in Sandusky, Ohio.