Comparing Civista Bancshares (NASDAQ:CIVB) and CB Financial Services (NASDAQ:CBFV)

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

Risk and Volatility

Civista Bancshares has a beta of 0.8, indicating that its stock price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CB Financial Services has a beta of 0.57, indicating that its stock price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

52.1% of Civista Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 33.1% of CB Financial Services shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.0% of Civista Bancshares shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 9.4% of CB Financial Services shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Civista Bancshares and CB Financial Services, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Civista Bancshares	0	3	1	0	2.25
CB Financial Services	0	3	0	0	2.00

Civista Bancshares currently has a consensus target price of $18.25, suggesting a potential upside of 2.30%. CB Financial Services has a consensus target price of $24.67, suggesting a potential downside of 13.45%. Given Civista Bancshares’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Civista Bancshares is more favorable than CB Financial Services.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Civista Bancshares and CB Financial Services”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Civista Bancshares	$151.19 million	1.86	$42.96 million	$2.33	7.66
CB Financial Services	$39.89 million	3.67	$22.55 million	$4.40	6.48

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

Dividends

Civista Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. CB Financial Services pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Civista Bancshares pays out 27.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. CB Financial Services pays out 22.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Civista Bancshares has increased its dividend for 13 consecutive years. Civista Bancshares is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

This table compares Civista Bancshares and CB Financial Services’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Civista Bancshares	14.48%	9.24%	0.86%
CB Financial Services	24.64%	8.61%	0.79%

Summary

Civista Bancshares beats CB Financial Services on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About CB Financial Services

CB Financial Services, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Community Bank that provides various banking products and services for individuals and businesses in southwestern Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio. The company's primary deposit products include demand deposits, NOW accounts, money market accounts, and savings accounts, as well as time deposit products. Its loan products comprise residential real estate loans, such as one- to four-family mortgage loans, home equity installment loans, and home equity lines of credit; commercial real estate loans that are secured primarily by improved properties, such as retail facilities, office buildings, and other non-residential buildings; construction loans to individuals to finance the construction of residential dwellings, as well as for the construction of commercial properties, including hotels, apartment buildings, housing developments, and owner-occupied properties used for businesses; commercial and industrial loans, and lines of credit; consumer loans consisting of indirect auto loans, secured and unsecured loans, and lines of credit; and other loans. In addition, the company conducts insurance agency activities by offering property and casualty, commercial liability, surety, and other insurance products. The company was founded in 1901 and is headquartered in Carmichaels, Pennsylvania.