Contrasting Citizens Bancshares (OTCMKTS:CZBS) and First Guaranty Bancshares (NASDAQ:FGBI)

First Guaranty Bancshares (NASDAQ:FGBI) and Citizens Bancshares (OTCMKTS:CZBS) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, profitability, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for First Guaranty Bancshares and Citizens Bancshares, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Guaranty Bancshares	1	1	0	0	1.50
Citizens Bancshares	0	0	0	0	0.00

Institutional & Insider Ownership

39.5% of First Guaranty Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. 47.2% of First Guaranty Bancshares shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 10.2% of Citizens Bancshares shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares First Guaranty Bancshares and Citizens Bancshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Guaranty Bancshares	-25.11%	-20.76%	-1.14%
Citizens Bancshares	N/A	N/A	N/A

Volatility & Risk

First Guaranty Bancshares has a beta of 0.32, suggesting that its stock price is 68% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Citizens Bancshares has a beta of 0.38, suggesting that its stock price is 62% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares First Guaranty Bancshares and Citizens Bancshares”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Guaranty Bancshares	$246.45 million	0.57	$12.45 million	($4.13)	-2.23
Citizens Bancshares	$44.68 million	1.84	$12.88 million	N/A	N/A

Citizens Bancshares has lower revenue, but higher earnings than First Guaranty Bancshares.

Dividends

First Guaranty Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. Citizens Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $1.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. First Guaranty Bancshares pays out -1.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Summary

Citizens Bancshares beats First Guaranty Bancshares on 7 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About First Guaranty Bancshares

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. operates as the holding company for First Guaranty Bank that provides commercial banking services in Louisiana and Texas. It offers various deposit products, including personal and business checking, savings, money market, and demand accounts, as well as time deposits to consumers, small businesses, and municipalities. The company provides loans, such as non-farm, non-residential loans secured by real estate, commercial and industrial loans, one- to four-family residential loans, multifamily loans, construction and land development loans, agricultural loans, farmland loans, and consumer and other loans to small to medium-sized businesses and professionals, and individuals. In addition, it offers a range of consumer services, including credit cards, mobile deposit capture, safe deposit boxes, official checks, online and mobile banking, automated teller machines, and online bill pay; provides additional solutions, such as merchant services, remote deposit capture, and lockbox services to business customers; and invests a portion of its assets in securities issued by the United States Government and its agencies, state and municipal obligations, corporate debt securities, mutual funds, and equity securities, as well as invests in mortgage-backed securities primarily issued or guaranteed by United States Government agencies or enterprises. First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. was founded in 1934 and is headquartered in Hammond, Louisiana.

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.