Citizens (NASDAQ:CIZN – Get Free Report) and Avidbank (NASDAQ:AVBH – Get Free Report) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends and profitability.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Citizens and Avidbank, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Citizens | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3.00 |
| Avidbank | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2.75 |
Citizens currently has a consensus price target of $16.83, suggesting a potential upside of 57.76%. Avidbank has a consensus price target of $35.33, suggesting a potential upside of 10.69%. Given Citizens’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Citizens is more favorable than Avidbank.
Valuation and Earnings
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Citizens | $40.95 million | 1.48 | $5.49 million | $1.68 | 6.35 |
| Avidbank | $151.76 million | 2.31 | -$19.55 million | ($1.92) | -16.62 |
Citizens has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Avidbank. Avidbank is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Citizens, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Volatility & Risk
Citizens has a beta of 0.04, meaning that its share price is 96% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Avidbank has a beta of 0.33, meaning that its share price is 67% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
9.7% of Citizens shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 15.9% of Avidbank shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.9% of Citizens shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 9.6% of Avidbank shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Profitability
This table compares Citizens and Avidbank’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Citizens | 7.00% | 11.28% | 0.37% |
| Avidbank | -8.69% | 10.85% | 1.21% |
Summary
Citizens beats Avidbank on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Citizens
Citizens Holding Company operates as the bank holding company for The Citizens Bank of Philadelphia that provides various commercial and personal banking products and services. It offers demand deposits; and savings and time deposit accounts. The company also provides secured and unsecured loans; mortgage loans; single and multi-family housing, farm, residential and commercial construction, and commercial real estate loans; commercial, industrial, and agricultural production loans; and consumer loans, as well as issues letters of credit. In addition, it offers personal and corporate trust services; credit life and title insurance; and online and mobile banking services. The company was founded in 1908 and is headquartered in Philadelphia, Mississippi.
About Avidbank
Avidbank Holdings, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for Avidbank that provides financial products and services to small and middle-market businesses, professionals, and individuals in the Santa Clara, San Mateo, and San Francisco counties. It offers business and personal deposit products, such as checking, money market, and savings accounts; and certificates of deposit. The company also provides personal lending products include secured and unsecured lines of credit, home equity lines of credit, remodel and new home construction loans, and term loans; corporate banking comprises working capital lines of credit, equipment loans, acquisition financing, shareholder buyouts, ESOP loans, and owner-occupied real estate loans; and commercial real estate lending, such as permanent loans and bridge financing products. In addition, it offers construction lending products, including land acquisition loans, pre-development loans, construction spec SFD, owner-occupied SFD, condominiums, subdivision, unsecured business lines, real estate bridge loans, and RLOC Â? real estate secured loans. Further, the company provides various financing solutions, such as structured finance, venture lending, asset-based lending, and sponsor finance. Additionally, it offers various services, such as automated clearing house payments and collections, bill pay, wire transfer, lockbox, merchant, remote deposit capture, ATM/debit cards, credit cards, business courier, cash management, and notary services, as well as online and mobile banking. The company was formerly known as Peninsula Bank Holding Co. and changed its name to Avidbank Holdings, Inc. in August 2011. Avidbank Holdings, Inc. was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in San Jose, California.
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