Citizens (NASDAQ:CIZN – Get Free Report) and MidWestOne Financial Group (NASDAQ:MOFG – Get Free Report) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation, earnings and risk.

This table compares Citizens and MidWestOne Financial Group”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Citizens has higher earnings, but lower revenue than MidWestOne Financial Group. MidWestOne 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.

This table compares Citizens and MidWestOne Financial Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

9.7% of Citizens shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 65.4% of MidWestOne Financial Group shares are held by institutional investors. 8.9% of Citizens shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.5% of MidWestOne Financial Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Citizens has a beta of 0.02, indicating that its share price is 98% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, MidWestOne Financial Group has a beta of 0.88, indicating that its share price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Citizens pays an annual dividend of $0.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. MidWestOne Financial Group pays an annual dividend of $0.97 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. Citizens pays out 8.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. MidWestOne Financial Group pays out -23.9% 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. MidWestOne Financial Group is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Citizens and MidWestOne Financial Group, as provided by MarketBeat.

MidWestOne Financial Group has a consensus price target of $34.67, suggesting a potential upside of 36.54%. Given MidWestOne Financial Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe MidWestOne Financial Group is more favorable than Citizens.

MidWestOne Financial Group beats Citizens on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

(Get Free Report)

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.

(Get Free Report)

MidWestOne Financial Group, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for MidWestOne Bank that provides commercial and retail banking products and services to individuals, businesses, governmental units, and institutional customers. It offers range of deposit products, including noninterest bearing and interest bearing demand deposits, savings, money market, and time deposits accounts. The company also provides commercial, real estate, agricultural, credit card, and consumer loans; and financing arrangements, such as brokered deposits, term debt, subordinated debt, and equity. In addition, it offers trust and investment services comprising administering estates, trusts, and conservatorships; property and farm management, investment advisory, retail securities brokerage, financial planning, and custodial services; and licensed brokers services. Further, the company provides online and mobile banking, debit cards, automated teller machines, and safe deposit boxes. MidWestOne Financial Group, Inc. was founded in 1934 and is headquartered in Iowa City, Iowa.

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