Contrasting Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) and Citizens Bancshares (OTCMKTS:CZBS)

Citizens Bancshares (OTCMKTS:CZBS) and Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk and profitability.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Citizens Bancshares and Hilltop, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Citizens Bancshares	0	0	0	0	0.00
Hilltop	0	2	1	1	2.75

Hilltop has a consensus price target of $37.50, suggesting a potential downside of 4.59%. Given Hilltop’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Hilltop is more favorable than Citizens Bancshares.

Profitability

This table compares Citizens Bancshares and Hilltop’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Citizens Bancshares	N/A	N/A	N/A
Hilltop	10.13%	7.32%	1.03%

Dividends

Citizens Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Hilltop pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Hilltop pays out 30.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Hilltop has raised its dividend for 8 consecutive years.

Volatility & Risk

Citizens Bancshares has a beta of 0.29, indicating that its share price is 71% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hilltop has a beta of 0.88, indicating that its share price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

57.1% of Hilltop shares are held by institutional investors. 10.2% of Citizens Bancshares shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 5.4% of Hilltop shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Citizens Bancshares and Hilltop”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Citizens Bancshares	$44.60 million	2.10	$10.59 million	N/A	N/A
Hilltop	$1.63 billion	1.42	$165.59 million	$2.64	14.89

Hilltop has higher revenue and earnings than Citizens Bancshares.

Summary

Hilltop beats Citizens Bancshares on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Citizens Bancshares

Citizens Bancshares Corporation operates as the holding company for Citizens Trust Bank that provides various commercial banking services to individual and corporate customers. The company offers checking and savings accounts; and demand and money market deposits. Its loan products include commercial, financial, and agricultural loans; loans secured by personal property, such as automobiles, marketable securities, and other titled recreational vehicles and motorcycles, as well as unsecured consumer debt; commercial real estate loans; single-family residential loans; and construction and development loans. The company also offers investment accounts and certificate of deposit account registry services. In addition, it provides merchant services, which include point of sale terminal, credit and debit card processing, electronic benefits transfer, gift card, and Internet shopping cart services; cash management services; and credit cards. Further, the company offers online and mobile banking, as well as check reorder services. Citizens Bancshares Corporation was founded in 1921 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

About Hilltop

Hilltop Holdings Inc. provides business and consumer banking services. It operates through three segments: Banking, Broker-Dealer, and Mortgage Origination. The Banking segment offers savings, checking, interest-bearing checking, and money market accounts; certificates of deposit; lines and letters of credit, home improvement and equity loans, loans for purchasing and carrying securities, term, agricultural and commercial real estate, equipment loans, and other lending products; and mortgage, commercial and industrial loans, and term and construction finance. It also provides treasury management, asset management, check cards, safe deposit boxes, online banking, bill pay, and overdraft privilege services; and estate planning, management and administration, investment portfolio management, employee benefit accounts, and individual retirement accounts services, as well as automated teller machines. The Broker-Dealer segment offers public finance services that assist public entities in originating, syndicating, and distributing securities of municipalities and political subdivisions; specialized advisory and investment banking services; advice and guidance to arbitrage rebate compliance, portfolio management, and local government investment pool administration; advisory services and products for derivatives and commodities; agricultural insurance; and sells, trades in, and underwrites U.S. government and government agency bonds, corporate bonds, and municipal bonds; mortgage-backed, asset-backed, and commercial mortgage-backed securities and structured products; and provides asset and liability management advisory, clearing, retail, and securities lending services. The Mortgage Origination segment offers fixed and adjustable rate mortgages, jumbo, new construction, Federal Housing Administration, Veterans Affairs, and United States Department of Agriculture loans. Hilltop Holdings Inc. was incorporated in 1998 and is based in Dallas, Texas.