Head to Head Review: Virginia National Bankshares (NASDAQ:VABK) and Citizens Financial Services (NASDAQ:CZFS)

Citizens Financial Services (NASDAQ:CZFS) and Virginia National Bankshares (NASDAQ:VABK) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, profitability, risk and dividends.

Dividends

Citizens Financial Services pays an annual dividend of $2.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Virginia National Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $1.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Citizens Financial Services pays out 24.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Virginia National Bankshares pays out 39.0% 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.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Citizens Financial Services and Virginia National Bankshares”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Citizens Financial Services	$173.51 million	2.00	$36.57 million	$8.19	8.82
Virginia National Bankshares	$83.34 million	2.89	$19.26 million	$3.69	12.03

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

Profitability

This table compares Citizens Financial Services and Virginia National Bankshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Citizens Financial Services	22.47%	11.89%	1.30%
Virginia National Bankshares	24.15%	11.15%	1.23%

Risk & Volatility

Citizens Financial Services has a beta of 0.36, meaning that its stock price is 64% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Virginia National Bankshares has a beta of 0.45, meaning that its stock price is 55% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Citizens Financial Services and Virginia National Bankshares, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Citizens Financial Services	0	1	0	2	3.33
Virginia National Bankshares	0	1	0	0	2.00

Insider and Institutional Ownership

22.5% of Citizens Financial Services shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 37.4% of Virginia National Bankshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.5% of Citizens Financial Services shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 14.4% of Virginia National Bankshares shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Citizens Financial Services beats Virginia National Bankshares on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Citizens Financial Services

Citizens Financial Services, Inc., a bank holding company, provides various banking products and services for individual, business, governmental, and institutional customers. The company accepts various deposit products, such as checking, savings, and time deposit accounts. Its loan products include residential, commercial, and agricultural real estate loans; commercial and industrial loans; state and political subdivision loans; and consumer loans, as well as various other specialized financial services. The company also provides professional trust administration, investment management services, estate planning and administration, custody of securities, and individual retirement accounts. In addition, it offers brokerage and financial planning services, as well as assistance in various oil and gas leasing matters; and provides mutual funds, annuities, and health and life insurance products. Citizens Financial Services, Inc. was incorporated in 1984 and is headquartered in Mansfield, Pennsylvania.

About Virginia National Bankshares

Virginia National Bankshares Corporation operates as the holding company for Virginia National Bank that provides a range of commercial and retail banking services. The company operates through Bank, Sturman Wealth Advisors, VNB Trust and Estate Services, and Masonry Capital segments. It provides checking accounts, demand deposits, NOW accounts, money market deposit accounts, time deposits, certificates of deposit, individual retirement accounts, and other depository services. In addition, the company offers commercial and industrial loans, real estate construction and land loans, commercial real estate loans, and 1-4 family residential mortgages, as well as consumer loans comprising student loans, revolving credit, and other fixed payment loans. Further, it provides automated teller machines, internet banking, treasury, and cash management services; merchant and debit card services; and wealth and investment advisory, and brokerage services. Additionally, the company offers investment management, corporate trustee, trust and estate administration, IRA administration, house investment management, and custody services. It serves individuals, businesses, and charitable organizations in the Charlottesville/Albemarle County, Fauquier County, Manassas, Prince William County, Richmond, and Winchester market areas in Virginia. Virginia National Bankshares Corporation was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Charlottesville, Virginia.