West Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WTBA – Get Free Report) and Citizens Community Bancorp (NASDAQ:CZWI – Get Free Report) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, dividends and institutional ownership.
Volatility & Risk
West Bancorporation has a beta of 0.91, indicating that its share price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Citizens Community Bancorp has a beta of 0.79, indicating that its share price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for West Bancorporation and Citizens Community Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| West Bancorporation | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2.67 |
| Citizens Community Bancorp | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3.00 |
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares West Bancorporation and Citizens Community Bancorp”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| West Bancorporation | $92.05 million | 4.02 | $24.05 million | $1.90 | 11.48 |
| Citizens Community Bancorp | $99.72 million | 1.64 | $13.75 million | $1.29 | 13.09 |
West Bancorporation has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Citizens Community Bancorp. West Bancorporation 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 and Institutional Ownership
44.3% of West Bancorporation shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 55.1% of Citizens Community Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 4.6% of West Bancorporation shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.9% of Citizens Community Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Dividends
West Bancorporation pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.6%. Citizens Community Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. West Bancorporation pays out 52.6% 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.
Profitability
This table compares West Bancorporation and Citizens Community Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| West Bancorporation | 16.04% | 13.40% | 0.80% |
| Citizens Community Bancorp | 13.08% | 7.05% | 0.74% |
Summary
West Bancorporation beats Citizens Community Bancorp on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.
About West Bancorporation
West Bancorporation, Inc. operates as the financial holding company provides community banking and trust services to individuals and small- to medium-sized businesses in the United States. It offers deposit services, including checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as time certificates of deposit. The company also provides loan products comprising commercial real estate loans, construction and land development loans, commercial lines of credit, and commercial term loans; consumer loans, including loans extended to individuals for household, family, and other personal expenditures not secured by real estate; and 1-4 family residential mortgages and home equity loans. In addition, it offers online and mobile banking, treasury management services including cash management, client-generated automated clearing house transactions, remote deposit, and fraud protection services; merchant credit card processing and corporate credit cards; and administration of estates, conservatorships, personal trusts, and agency accounts. The company was founded in 1893 and is headquartered in West Des Moines, Iowa.
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.
Receive News & Ratings for West Bancorporation Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for West Bancorporation and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
