Analyzing Citizens Bancshares (OTCMKTS:CZBS) & Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST)

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

Volatility and Risk

Citizens Bancshares has a beta of 0.29, indicating that its share price is 71% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Southern First Bancshares has a beta of 0.68, indicating that its share price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

75.0% of Southern First Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 10.2% of Citizens Bancshares shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.9% of Southern First Bancshares shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Citizens Bancshares	N/A	N/A	N/A
Southern First Bancshares	15.21%	9.65%	0.79%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Citizens Bancshares and Southern First Bancshares, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Citizens Bancshares	0	0	0	0	0.00
Southern First Bancshares	0	1	2	0	2.67

Southern First Bancshares has a consensus target price of $64.00, indicating a potential upside of 14.82%. Given Southern First Bancshares’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Southern First Bancshares is more favorable than Citizens Bancshares.

Earnings & Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Citizens Bancshares	$44.60 million	1.97	$10.59 million	N/A	N/A
Southern First Bancshares	$125.39 million	4.20	$30.37 million	$4.28	13.02

Southern First Bancshares has higher revenue and earnings than Citizens Bancshares.

Summary

Southern First Bancshares beats Citizens Bancshares on 11 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Southern First Bancshares

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Southern First Bank that provides commercial, consumer, and mortgage loans to the general public in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia. The company accepts various deposit products that include checking accounts, commercial checking accounts, and savings accounts, as well as other time deposits, including daily money market accounts and long-term certificates of deposit. Its loan portfolio comprises commercial real estate loans; construction real estate loans; commercial business loans for various lines of businesses, such as the manufacturing, service industry, and professional service areas; consumer real estate and home equity loans; and other consumer loans, including secured and unsecured installment loans and revolving lines of credit. In addition, the company provides other bank services, such as internet banking, cash management, safe deposit boxes, direct deposit, automatic drafts, bill payment, and mobile banking services. Southern First Bancshares, Inc. was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina.