Head to Head Survey: Civista Bancshares (NASDAQ:CIVB) versus Commerzbank (OTCMKTS:CRZBY)

Civista Bancshares (NASDAQ:CIVB) and Commerzbank (OTCMKTS:CRZBY) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation, earnings and dividends.

Risk and Volatility

Civista Bancshares has a beta of 0.66, suggesting that its stock price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Commerzbank has a beta of 0.6, suggesting that its stock price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Civista Bancshares and Commerzbank”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Civista Bancshares	$254.95 million	2.20	$46.21 million	$2.70	9.98
Commerzbank	$26.54 billion	1.66	$2.97 billion	$3.04	13.83

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Civista Bancshares	20.79%	10.65%	1.35%
Commerzbank	13.30%	8.89%	0.53%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Civista Bancshares and Commerzbank, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Civista Bancshares	0	3	3	0	2.50
Commerzbank	0	5	3	1	2.56

Civista Bancshares presently has a consensus target price of $30.25, indicating a potential upside of 12.25%. Given Civista Bancshares’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Civista Bancshares is more favorable than Commerzbank.

Dividends

Civista Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Commerzbank pays an annual dividend of $0.90 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Civista Bancshares pays out 26.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Commerzbank pays out 29.6% 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 raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years. Civista Bancshares is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Civista Bancshares beats Commerzbank on 11 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 Commerzbank

Commerzbank AG provides banking and capital market products and services to private and small business customers, corporate, financial service providers, and institutional clients in Germany, rest of Europe, the Americas, Asia, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Private and Small-Business Customers, and Corporate Clients. The company offers saving, checking, business, and current accounts; term deposits; pension; credit and debit cards; payment solutions; overdraft services; various loans; and insurance products. It also provides trade securities; treasury management; corporate financing; real estate financing; financing advisory; merger and acquisition; foreign trade; trade financing; asset and risk management; and online banking, as well as wealth management services. Commerzbank AG was founded in 1870 and is headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.