Comparing Mid Penn Bancorp (NASDAQ:MPB) and Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC)

Mid Penn Bancorp (NASDAQ:MPB) and Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, earnings, dividends and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Mid Penn Bancorp and Nicolet Bankshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Mid Penn Bancorp	13.69%	8.13%	0.95%
Nicolet Bankshares	25.12%	11.48%	1.52%

Risk & Volatility

Mid Penn Bancorp has a beta of 0.61, suggesting that its stock price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Nicolet Bankshares has a beta of 0.73, suggesting that its stock price is 27% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Mid Penn Bancorp and Nicolet Bankshares, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Mid Penn Bancorp	0	1	2	0	2.67
Nicolet Bankshares	0	2	2	0	2.50

Mid Penn Bancorp presently has a consensus price target of $34.50, indicating a potential upside of 28.68%. Nicolet Bankshares has a consensus price target of $145.33, indicating a potential upside of 16.41%. Given Mid Penn Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Mid Penn Bancorp is more favorable than Nicolet Bankshares.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Mid Penn Bancorp and Nicolet Bankshares”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Mid Penn Bancorp	$309.08 million	2.00	$49.44 million	$2.39	11.22
Nicolet Bankshares	$520.63 million	3.56	$124.06 million	$8.71	14.33

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

43.1% of Mid Penn Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 43.1% of Nicolet Bankshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.1% of Mid Penn Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 16.4% of Nicolet Bankshares shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Mid Penn Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Nicolet Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $1.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Mid Penn Bancorp pays out 33.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Nicolet Bankshares pays out 14.7% 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. Nicolet Bankshares has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years.

Summary

Nicolet Bankshares beats Mid Penn Bancorp on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Mid Penn Bancorp

Mid Penn Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Mid Penn Bank that provides commercial banking services to individuals, partnerships, non-profit organizations, and corporations. The company offers various time and demand deposit products, including checking accounts, savings accounts, clubs, money market deposit accounts, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts. It also provides a range of loan products comprising mortgage and home equity loans, secured and unsecured commercial and consumer loans, lines of credit, construction financing, farm loans, community development loans, loans to non-profit entities, and local government loans. In addition, the company offers trust, retail investment, wealth management, and insurance services; and provides online banking, telephone banking, cash management, and automated teller services, as well as safe deposit boxes. The company was founded in 1868 and is headquartered in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

About Nicolet Bankshares

Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Nicolet National Bank that provides banking products and services for businesses and individuals in Wisconsin and Michigan. The company accepts checking, savings, and money market accounts; various certificates of deposit; and individual retirement accounts. It also offers commercial loans, including commercial, industrial, and business loans and lines of credit; commercial real estate loans; agricultural (AG) production and AG real estate loans; commercial real estate investment real estate loans; construction and land development loans; residential real estate loans, such as residential first lien and junior lien mortgages, home equity loans, lines of credit, and residential construction loans; and consumer loans. In addition, the company provides cash management, international banking, personal brokerage, safe deposit boxes, and trust and fiduciary services, as well as wealth management and retirement plan services. Further, it offers mortgage refinancing; online services, such as commercial, retail, and trust online banking; automated bill payment, mobile banking deposits and account access, and remote deposit capture services; and other services consisting of wire transfers, debit cards, credit cards, pre-paid gift cards, direct deposits, and official bank checks, as well as facilitates crop insurance products. The company was formerly known as Green Bay Financial Corporation and changed its name to Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. in March 2002. The company was incorporated in 2000 and is headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin.