Head-To-Head Comparison: Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC) vs. Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS)

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS – Get Rating) and Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC – Get Rating) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends, profitability and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Alerus Financial and Nicolet Bankshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Alerus Financial	17.64%	12.94%	1.23%
Nicolet Bankshares	28.41%	11.06%	1.23%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

41.7% of Alerus Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 37.4% of Nicolet Bankshares shares are held by institutional investors. 6.9% of Alerus Financial shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 13.4% of Nicolet Bankshares shares are held 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 and Volatility

Alerus Financial has a beta of 0.62, indicating that its stock price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Nicolet Bankshares has a beta of 0.72, indicating that its stock price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Alerus Financial and Nicolet Bankshares’ top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Alerus Financial	$226.80 million	1.58	$40.01 million	$2.09	8.56
Nicolet Bankshares	$331.84 million	3.04	$94.26 million	$6.55	10.49

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for Alerus Financial and Nicolet Bankshares, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Alerus Financial	0	2	0	0	2.00
Nicolet Bankshares	0	0	0	0	N/A

Alerus Financial currently has a consensus price target of $23.00, indicating a potential upside of 28.56%. Nicolet Bankshares has a consensus price target of $92.50, indicating a potential upside of 34.58%. Given Nicolet Bankshares’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Nicolet Bankshares is more favorable than Alerus Financial.

Summary

Nicolet Bankshares beats Alerus Financial on 9 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Alerus Financial

(Get Rating)

Alerus Financial Corp. engages in the provision of business and consumer financial products and services through its subsidiary, Alerus Financial NA. It operates through the following segments: Banking, Retirement & Benefit Services, Wealth Management, Mortgage, and Corporate Administration. The Banking segment provides lending and deposit products. The Retirement & Benefit Services segment consists of retirement plan administration and investment advisory services, employee stock ownership plan, fiduciary services, payroll, HSA, and other benefit services. The Wealth Management segment offers fiduciary services to consumer and commercial clients, including financial planning, investment management, personal and corporate trust services, estate administration, and custody services. The Mortgage segment includes first and second mortgage loans through a centralized mortgage unit. The Corporate Administration segment covers indirect overhead allocations and income tax expense. The was company founded in 1879 and is headquartered in Grand Folks, ND.

About Nicolet Bankshares

(Get Rating)

Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. is a holding company, which engages in the provision of commercial and consumer banking services through its subsidiary. It offers lending and deposit gathering, ancillary banking-related, trust, brokerage, and other investment management products and services. The firm also delivers commercial-related and residential real estate loans. The company was founded by Robert Bruc Atwell and Michael Edward Daniels on April 5, 2000 and is headquartered in Green Bay, WI.