Head to Head Review: Citizens (NASDAQ:CIZN) vs. Bank of the James Financial Group (NASDAQ:BOTJ)

Insider and Institutional Ownership

18.5% of Bank of the James Financial Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 9.7% of Citizens shares are owned by institutional investors. 15.3% of Bank of the James Financial Group shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 8.9% of Citizens shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Bank of the James Financial Group and Citizens”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Bank of the James Financial Group	$43.56 million	1.41	$7.94 million	$1.75	7.66
Citizens	$40.95 million	1.37	$5.49 million	$0.98	10.17

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

Dividends

Bank of the James Financial Group pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Citizens pays an annual dividend of $0.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.4%. Bank of the James Financial Group pays out 22.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Citizens pays out 65.3% 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.

Risk & Volatility

Bank of the James Financial Group has a beta of 0.78, suggesting that its stock price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Citizens has a beta of -0.06, suggesting that its stock price is 106% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Bank of the James Financial Group and Citizens’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Bank of the James Financial Group	13.29%	12.48%	0.80%
Citizens	7.00%	11.28%	0.37%

Summary

Bank of the James Financial Group beats Citizens on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Bank of the James Financial Group

Bank of the James Financial Group, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Bank of the James that provides general retail and commercial banking services to individuals, businesses, associations and organizations, and governmental authorities in Virginia, the United States. It offers checking, savings, individual retirement, and health care saving accounts, as well as other time deposits, including money market accounts and certificates of deposit. The company also provides loans to small- and medium-sized businesses for the purchases of equipment, facilities upgrades, inventory acquisition, and various working capital purposes; commercial and residential construction and development loans; commercial real estate mortgage loans; residential mortgage loans; and secured and unsecured consumer loans, such as lines of credit and overdraft lines of credit, as well as personal, automobile, installment, demand, and home equity loans for personal, family, or household purposes. In addition, it offers other banking services, including safe deposit boxes, traveler's checks, direct deposit of payroll and social security checks, automatic drafts for various accounts, treasury management, and credit card merchant services. Further, the company provides mortgage banking; investment advisory services; securities brokerage and investment services; and telephone and internet banking services comprising online bill pay, as well as acts as an agent for insurance and annuity products. The company was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Lynchburg, Virginia.

About Citizens

Citizens Holding Company operates as the bank holding company for The Citizens Bank of Philadelphia that provides various commercial and personal banking products and services. It offers demand deposits; and savings and time deposit accounts. The company also provides secured and unsecured loans; mortgage loans; single and multi-family housing, farm, residential and commercial construction, and commercial real estate loans; commercial, industrial, and agricultural production loans; and consumer loans, as well as issues letters of credit. In addition, it offers personal and corporate trust services; credit life and title insurance; and online and mobile banking services. The company was founded in 1908 and is headquartered in Philadelphia, Mississippi.