Commerzbank (OTCMKTS:CRZBY) vs. Civista Bancshares (NASDAQ:CIVB) Head to Head Comparison

Commerzbank (OTCMKTS:CRZBY) and Civista Bancshares (NASDAQ:CIVB) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, dividends, valuation, earnings, institutional ownership and profitability.

Dividends

Commerzbank pays an annual dividend of $0.90 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Civista Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Commerzbank pays out 29.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Civista Bancshares pays out 26.7% 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. Civista Bancshares has increased its dividend for 4 consecutive years. Civista Bancshares is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Volatility & Risk

Commerzbank has a beta of 0.6, indicating that its share price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Civista Bancshares has a beta of 0.66, indicating that its share price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

52.1% of Civista Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.6% of Civista Bancshares shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Commerzbank and Civista Bancshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Commerzbank	13.30%	8.89%	0.53%
Civista Bancshares	20.79%	10.65%	1.35%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for Commerzbank and Civista Bancshares, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Commerzbank	0	5	3	1	2.56
Civista Bancshares	0	3	3	0	2.50

Civista Bancshares has a consensus price target of $30.25, indicating a potential upside of 12.25%. Given Civista Bancshares’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Civista Bancshares is more favorable than Commerzbank.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Commerzbank and Civista Bancshares”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Commerzbank	$26.54 billion	1.66	$2.97 billion	$3.04	13.83
Civista Bancshares	$254.95 million	2.20	$46.21 million	$2.70	9.98

Commerzbank has higher revenue and earnings than Civista Bancshares. Civista Bancshares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Commerzbank, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Civista Bancshares beats Commerzbank on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Commerzbank

Commerzbank AG provides banking and capital market products and services to private and small business customers, corporate, financial service providers, and institutional clients in Germany, rest of Europe, the Americas, Asia, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Private and Small-Business Customers, and Corporate Clients. The company offers saving, checking, business, and current accounts; term deposits; pension; credit and debit cards; payment solutions; overdraft services; various loans; and insurance products. It also provides trade securities; treasury management; corporate financing; real estate financing; financing advisory; merger and acquisition; foreign trade; trade financing; asset and risk management; and online banking, as well as wealth management services. Commerzbank AG was founded in 1870 and is headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

About Civista Bancshares

Civista Bancshares, Inc. operates as the financial holding company for Civista Bank that provides community banking services. It collects a range of customer deposits; and offers commercial and agriculture, commercial and residential real estate, farm real estate, real estate construction, consumer, and other loans, as well as letters of credit. The company also holds and manages securities portfolio; leases general equipment; and provides captive insurance products. It operates in North Central, West Central, South Western Ohio, South Eastern Indiana, and Northern Kentucky. The company was formerly known as First Citizens Banc Corp and changed its name to Civista Bancshares, Inc. in May 2015. Civista Bancshares, Inc. was founded in 1884 and is headquartered in Sandusky, Ohio.