Reviewing ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB) and Citizens (NASDAQ:CIZN)

ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB) and Citizens (NASDAQ:CIZN) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, earnings, dividends, risk, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Dividends

ConnectOne Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.78 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Citizens pays an annual dividend of $0.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. ConnectOne Bancorp pays out 27.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Citizens pays out 4.0% 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. ConnectOne Bancorp has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years and Citizens has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. ConnectOne Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

This table compares ConnectOne Bancorp and Citizens’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ConnectOne Bancorp	18.97%	11.96%	1.24%
Citizens	7.00%	11.28%	0.37%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

67.7% of ConnectOne Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 9.7% of Citizens shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.2% of ConnectOne Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 8.9% of Citizens shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

ConnectOne Bancorp has a beta of 1.04, suggesting that its stock price is 4% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Citizens has a beta of 0.13, suggesting that its stock price is 87% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares ConnectOne Bancorp and Citizens”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ConnectOne Bancorp	$679.93 million	2.43	$80.44 million	$2.86	11.49
Citizens	$40.95 million	1.36	$5.49 million	$2.02	4.83

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for ConnectOne Bancorp and Citizens, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ConnectOne Bancorp	0	0	5	1	3.17
Citizens	0	1	5	0	2.83

ConnectOne Bancorp presently has a consensus target price of $35.75, suggesting a potential upside of 8.79%. Citizens has a consensus target price of $16.83, suggesting a potential upside of 72.65%. Given Citizens’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Citizens is more favorable than ConnectOne Bancorp.

Summary

ConnectOne Bancorp beats Citizens on 13 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ConnectOne Bancorp

ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. is a bank holding company whose principal subsidiary is ConnectOne Bank. The bank provides commercial and consumer banking services to businesses, professionals, and individuals, including deposit accounts, business and personal loans, and cash-management and digital banking services. Its lending activities include commercial real estate and commercial and industrial financing, alongside residential mortgage and consumer lending. ConnectOne also offers treasury-management services to help business clients manage payments, liquidity, and other financial operations.

About Citizens

Citizens Holding Company was a bank holding company for Citizens Bank, a community banking institution headquartered in Philadelphia, Mississippi. The bank served individuals, businesses and public-sector customers through traditional banking products and services. Its offerings included checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, consumer and residential mortgage loans, commercial and agricultural lending, online banking and other deposit and credit services. Citizens Bank operated primarily in Mississippi, with a branch network focused on communities in the state’s east-central region.