Security National Financial (NASDAQ:SNFCA) and Citizens (NYSE:CIA) Head-To-Head Review

Security National Financial (NASDAQ:SNFCA) and Citizens (NYSE:CIA) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, dividends, valuation and risk.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Security National Financial and Citizens”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Security National Financial	$334.52 million	0.66	$26.54 million	$0.89	9.52
Citizens	$245.00 million	1.05	$14.91 million	$0.22	23.32

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

Risk and Volatility

Security National Financial has a beta of 0.84, indicating that its stock price is 16% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Citizens has a beta of 0.39, indicating that its stock price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

45.6% of Security National Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 13.7% of Citizens shares are owned by institutional investors. 13.0% of Security National Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.6% of Citizens shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Security National Financial and Citizens’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Security National Financial	6.66%	6.58%	1.51%
Citizens	4.57%	6.42%	0.81%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Security National Financial and Citizens, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Security National Financial	0	0	0	0	0.00
Citizens	0	0	0	1	4.00

Summary

Security National Financial beats Citizens on 9 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Security National Financial

Security National Financial Corporation engages in the life insurance, cemetery and mortuary, and mortgage businesses. The company's Life Insurance segment is involved in selling and servicing lines of life insurance, annuity products, and accident and health insurance. It offers various life insurance products, including funeral plans and interest-sensitive life insurance, as well as other traditional life, accident, and health insurance products; annuity products comprising single and flexible premium deferred annuities, and immediate annuities; and diver's accident insurance policies. This segment also cedes and assumes various risks with various authorized unaffiliated reinsurers pursuant to reinsurance treaties. Its Cemetery and Mortuary segment operates eight mortuaries and five cemeteries in Utah; one cemetery in California; and four mortuaries and one cemetery in New Mexico. This segment also offers plots, interment vaults, mausoleum crypts, markers, caskets, urns, and other death care related products; and provides professional services of funeral directors, opening and closing of graves, use of chapels and viewing rooms, and use of automobiles and clothing. The company's Mortgages segment originates and underwrites residential and commercial loans for new construction, existing homes, and real estate projects primarily in Florida, Nevada, Texas, and Utah. It offers residential mortgage lending services to real estate brokers and builders, as well as directly with consumers. Security National Financial Corporation was founded in 1965 and is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.

About Citizens

Citizens, Inc. provides life insurance products in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Life Insurance and Home Service Insurance. The Life Insurance segment issues ordinary whole life insurance and endowment policies in the United States dollar-denominated amounts to non-U.S. residents in through independent marketing agencies and consultants. The Home Service Insurance segment offers final expense life insurance and property insurance policies to middle-and lower-income households, as well as whole life products in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas. This segment provides its products and services through funeral homes and independent agents. The company provides accident and health insurance policies. Citizens, Inc. was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Austin, Texas.