Head-To-Head Review: CB Financial Services (NASDAQ:CBFV) and Northeast Bank (NASDAQ:NBN)

CB Financial Services (NASDAQ:CBFV) and Northeast Bank (NASDAQ:NBN) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends and risk.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

33.1% of CB Financial Services shares are held by institutional investors. 9.4% of CB Financial Services shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 14.2% of Northeast Bank 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.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares CB Financial Services and Northeast Bank’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
CB Financial Services	$86.24 million	1.34	$22.55 million	$4.40	5.13
Northeast Bank	$182.43 million	N/A	$44.19 million	$7.30	8.14

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

Risk and Volatility

CB Financial Services has a beta of 0.54, indicating that its share price is 46% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Northeast Bank has a beta of 1.15, indicating that its share price is 15% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares CB Financial Services and Northeast Bank’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
CB Financial Services	25.36%	9.12%	0.81%
Northeast Bank	21.73%	N/A	N/A

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for CB Financial Services and Northeast Bank, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
CB Financial Services	0	3	0	0	2.00
Northeast Bank	0	0	1	0	3.00

CB Financial Services currently has a consensus price target of $24.33, indicating a potential upside of 7.86%. Northeast Bank has a consensus price target of $54.00, indicating a potential downside of 9.11%. Given CB Financial Services’ higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe CB Financial Services is more favorable than Northeast Bank.

Dividends

CB Financial Services pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.4%. Northeast Bank pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.1%. CB Financial Services pays out 22.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Northeast Bank pays out 0.5% 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. CB Financial Services has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. CB Financial Services is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Northeast Bank beats CB Financial Services on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About CB Financial Services

CB Financial Services, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Community Bank that provides various banking products and services for individuals and businesses in southwestern Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio. The company's primary deposit products include demand deposits, NOW accounts, money market accounts, and savings accounts, as well as time deposit products. Its loan products comprise residential real estate loans, such as one- to four-family mortgage loans, home equity installment loans, and home equity lines of credit; commercial real estate loans that are secured primarily by improved properties, such as retail facilities, office buildings, and other non-residential buildings; construction loans to individuals to finance the construction of residential dwellings, as well as for the construction of commercial properties, including hotels, apartment buildings, housing developments, and owner-occupied properties used for businesses; commercial and industrial loans, and lines of credit; consumer loans consisting of indirect auto loans, secured and unsecured loans, and lines of credit; and other loans. In addition, the company conducts insurance agency activities by offering property and casualty, commercial liability, surety, and other insurance products. The company was founded in 1901 and is headquartered in Carmichaels, Pennsylvania.

About Northeast Bank

Northeast Bank provides banking services to individual and corporate customers in Maine. The company's deposit products include demand deposit, NOW, money market, savings, certificate of deposit, and individual retirement accounts, as well as checking accounts. Its loan portfolio comprises residential mortgage loans; multi-family and other commercial real estate loans; commercial and industrial loans, such as term loans, lines of credit and equipment, and receivables financing; consumer loans comprising mobile home and overdraft, and deposit-secured loans; and small business administration loans. In addition, the company offers telephone banking, online banking and bill payment, mobile banking, cash management, and remote deposit capture services, as well as debit and credit card, ATM, electronic transfer, and check services. Further, it provides various services, such as money market, merchant, and payroll and HR. Northeast Bank was founded in 1872 and is headquartered in Portland, Maine.