Critical Analysis: Citizens & Northern (NASDAQ:CZNC) & Banco Bradesco (NYSE:BBD)

Banco Bradesco (NYSE:BBD) and Citizens & Northern (NASDAQ:CZNC) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, earnings and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Banco Bradesco and Citizens & Northern’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Banco Bradesco	12.58%	15.06%	1.14%
Citizens & Northern	17.41%	11.86%	1.29%

Dividends

Banco Bradesco pays an annual dividend of $0.03 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Citizens & Northern pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. Banco Bradesco pays out 6.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Citizens & Northern pays out 81.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Banco Bradesco and Citizens & Northern, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Banco Bradesco	0	6	1	0	2.14
Citizens & Northern	0	2	1	0	2.33

Banco Bradesco currently has a consensus price target of $4.05, indicating a potential upside of 61.03%. Citizens & Northern has a consensus price target of $23.50, indicating a potential downside of 16.13%. Given Banco Bradesco’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Banco Bradesco is more favorable than Citizens & Northern.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Banco Bradesco and Citizens & Northern”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Banco Bradesco	$41.79 billion	0.64	$4.24 billion	$0.46	5.47
Citizens & Northern	$170.03 million	2.96	$23.43 million	$1.48	18.93

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

30.8% of Citizens & Northern shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Banco Bradesco shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.7% of Citizens & Northern shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk & Volatility

Banco Bradesco has a beta of 0.56, meaning that its share price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Citizens & Northern has a beta of 0.39, meaning that its share price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Citizens & Northern beats Banco Bradesco on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Banco Bradesco

Banco Bradesco S.A. is a Brazilian financial services company offering banking, insurance and related services to individuals, businesses and institutions. Its banking products include checking and savings accounts, loans, credit cards, investment services and solutions for corporate clients. The company also operates in insurance, private pensions and capitalization products, and provides services such as asset management and consortium financing. Bradesco serves customers primarily across Brazil through digital channels and a nationwide branch and service network.

About Citizens & Northern

Citizens & Northern Corporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Wellsboro, Pennsylvania. Through its subsidiary, Citizens & Northern Bank, it provides community banking services to individuals, businesses and organizations. The bank offers deposit accounts and lending products, including commercial, residential mortgage and consumer loans. Its services also include wealth management and trust services. Citizens & Northern serves communities in north-central Pennsylvania and the Southern Tier of New York.