Banner (NASDAQ:BANR – Get Free Report) and Citizens Community Bancorp (NASDAQ:CZWI – Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, dividends, profitability, institutional ownership, risk and analyst recommendations.
Dividends
Banner pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Citizens Community Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Banner pays out 36.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Citizens Community Bancorp pays out 27.9% 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. Citizens Community Bancorp has raised its dividend for 6 consecutive years.
Risk & Volatility
Banner has a beta of 0.93, indicating that its stock price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Citizens Community Bancorp has a beta of 0.7, indicating that its stock price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Recommendations
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Banner | 0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 2.43 |
| Citizens Community Bancorp | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3.00 |
Banner currently has a consensus price target of $71.17, indicating a potential upside of 12.02%. Given Banner’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Banner is more favorable than Citizens Community Bancorp.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Banner and Citizens Community Bancorp”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Banner | $832.99 million | 2.60 | $168.90 million | $5.49 | 11.57 |
| Citizens Community Bancorp | $99.72 million | 1.68 | $13.75 million | $1.29 | 13.43 |
Banner has higher revenue and earnings than Citizens Community Bancorp. Banner is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Citizens Community Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
87.3% of Banner shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 55.1% of Citizens Community Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.6% of Banner shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.9% of Citizens Community Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Profitability
This table compares Banner and Citizens Community Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Banner | 21.80% | 10.32% | 1.17% |
| Citizens Community Bancorp | 13.08% | 7.05% | 0.74% |
Summary
Banner beats Citizens Community Bancorp on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Banner
Banner Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Banner Bank that engages in the provision of commercial banking and financial products and services to individuals, businesses, and public sector entities in the United States. It accepts various deposit instruments, including interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing checking accounts, money market deposit accounts, regular savings accounts, and certificates of deposit, as well as treasury management services and retirement savings plans. The company also provides commercial real estate loans, including owner-occupied, investment properties, and multifamily residential real estate loans; construction, land, and land development loans; one- to four-family residential real estate lending; commercial business loans; agricultural loans; consumer and other loans, such as home equity lines of credit, automobile, and boat and recreational vehicle loans, as well as loans secured by deposit accounts; and small business administration loans. In addition, it provides electronic and digital banking services comprising debit cards and ATMs, internet banking, remote deposit, and mobile banking services. The company was founded in 1890 and is based in Walla Walla, Washington.
About Citizens Community Bancorp
Citizens Community Bancorp, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for Citizens Community Federal N.A. that provides various traditional community banking services to businesses, agricultural operators, and consumers. It accepts various deposit products, including demand deposits, savings and money market accounts, and certificates of deposit. The company also offers various loan products, such as commercial real estate, commercial and industrial, agricultural real estate, agricultural operating, and consumer loans; and one-to-four family residential mortgages and home equity lines-of-credit. In addition, it maintains a portfolio of investments comprising mortgage-backed, corporate asset-backed, U.S. Government sponsored agency, and corporate debt securities. Citizens Community Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1938 and is based in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
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