Isabella Bank (OTCMKTS:ISBA) & Civista Bancshares (NASDAQ:CIVB) Head to Head Comparison

Isabella Bank (OTCMKTS:ISBA) and Civista Bancshares (NASDAQ:CIVB) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, valuation, risk, profitability, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

52.1% of Civista Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. 7.3% of Isabella Bank shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.0% of Civista Bancshares shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Isabella Bank and Civista Bancshares”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Isabella Bank	$93.46 million	2.05	$18.17 million	$1.83	14.10
Civista Bancshares	$150.48 million	2.03	$42.96 million	$2.01	9.64

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

Dividends

Isabella Bank pays an annual dividend of $1.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. Civista Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Isabella Bank pays out 61.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Civista Bancshares pays out 31.8% 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 increased its dividend for 14 consecutive years.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Isabella Bank and Civista Bancshares, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Isabella Bank	0	1	0	0	2.00
Civista Bancshares	0	2	2	0	2.50

Isabella Bank currently has a consensus target price of $24.00, indicating a potential downside of 6.98%. Civista Bancshares has a consensus target price of $21.75, indicating a potential upside of 12.23%. Given Civista Bancshares’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Civista Bancshares is more favorable than Isabella Bank.

Profitability

This table compares Isabella Bank and Civista Bancshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Isabella Bank	13.43%	7.32%	0.72%
Civista Bancshares	13.12%	8.33%	0.80%

Volatility & Risk

Isabella Bank has a beta of 0.02, suggesting that its share price is 98% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Civista Bancshares has a beta of 0.82, suggesting that its share price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Civista Bancshares beats Isabella Bank on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Isabella Bank

Isabella Bank Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Isabella Bank that provides various banking products and services to businesses, institutions, and individuals and their families. Its deposit products include checking accounts, savings accounts, certificates of deposit, direct deposits, and money market accounts. The company's loan portfolio comprises commercial, agricultural, and residential real estate loans, as well as consumer loans, including secured and unsecured personal loans. It also offers cash management, mobile and internet banking, electronic bill pay, automated teller machines, trust and investment, estate planning, and safe deposit box rental services; and insurance products. The company operated banking offices in Clare, Gratiot, Isabella, Mecosta, Midland, Montcalm, and Saginaw counties. Isabella Bank Corporation was founded in 1903 and is headquartered in Mount Pleasant, Michigan.

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.