C&F Financial (NASDAQ:CFFI) versus Old Second Bancorp (NASDAQ:OSBC) Critical Review

C&F Financial (NASDAQ:CFFI) and Old Second Bancorp (NASDAQ:OSBC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, risk and analyst recommendations.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares C&F Financial and Old Second Bancorp’s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
C&F Financial	$129.69 million	1.40	$29.16 million	$8.52	6.26
Old Second Bancorp	$278.15 million	2.32	$67.40 million	$2.03	7.13

Old Second Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than C&F Financial. C&F Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Old Second Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares C&F Financial and Old Second Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
C&F Financial	20.59%	13.90%	1.15%
Old Second Bancorp	30.18%	19.45%	1.57%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for C&F Financial and Old Second Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
C&F Financial	0	0	0	0	N/A
Old Second Bancorp	0	0	3	1	3.25

Old Second Bancorp has a consensus target price of $18.67, indicating a potential upside of 29.00%. Given Old Second Bancorp’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Old Second Bancorp is more favorable than C&F Financial.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

36.8% of C&F Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 65.8% of Old Second Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.3% of C&F Financial shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.9% of Old Second Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

C&F Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Old Second Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. C&F Financial pays out 20.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Old Second Bancorp pays out 9.9% 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. C&F Financial has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years. C&F Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Risk and Volatility

C&F Financial has a beta of 0.3, meaning that its stock price is 70% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Old Second Bancorp has a beta of 1.12, meaning that its stock price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Old Second Bancorp beats C&F Financial on 13 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About C&F Financial

C&F Financial Corporation operates as a bank holding company for Citizens and Farmers Bank that provides banking services to individuals and businesses. The company's community Banking offers various banking services, including checking and savings deposit accounts, as well as business, real estate, development, mortgage, home equity, and installment loans. It also provides ATMs, Internet and mobile banking, and debit and credit cards, as well as safe deposit box rentals, notary public, electronic transfer, and other customary bank services. The company's Mortgage Banking segment provides various residential mortgage loans; originates conventional mortgage loans, mortgage loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration, and mortgage loans guaranteed by the United States Department of Agriculture and the Veterans Administration; and ancillary mortgage loan origination services for residential appraisals, as well as various mortgage origination activities. The company's Consumer Finance segment provides automobile loans. It also offers brokerage and wealth management services; and insurance products. In addition, the company provides title and settlement agency, and insurance services. C&F Financial Corporation was founded in 1927 and is headquartered in West Point, Virginia.

About Old Second Bancorp

Old Second Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Old Second National Bank that provides community banking services. It offers demand, NOW, money market, savings, time deposit, individual retirement, and checking accounts, as well as certificates of deposit accounts. The company also provides commercial loans; lease financing receivables; commercial real estate loans; construction loans; residential real estate loans, such as residential first mortgage and second mortgage loans; home equity line of credit; consumer loans, including motor vehicle, home improvement, and signature loans; installment and agricultural loans; residential mortgages; and overdraft checking. In addition, it offers safe deposit services; trust and wealth management services; and money orders, cashier's checks, foreign currency, direct deposits, discount brokerage, debit and credit cards, and other services, as well as acquires the U.S. treasury notes and bonds. Further, the company provides online and mobile banking; corporate cash management products, including remote and mobile deposits capture, investment sweep accounts, zero balance accounts, automated tax payments, automatic teller machines access, telephone banking, lockbox accounts, automated clearing house transactions, account reconciliation, controlled disbursement, detail and general information reporting, foreign and domestic wire transfers, and vault services for currency and coin; and investment, agency, and custodial services for individual, corporate, and not-for-profit clients. Old Second Bancorp, Inc. was incorporated in 1981 and is headquartered in Aurora, Illinois.