City (NASDAQ:CHCO) versus Bank First (NASDAQ:BFC) Head-To-Head Analysis

Bank First (NASDAQ:BFC – Get Rating) and City (NASDAQ:CHCO – Get Rating) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, profitability and dividends.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Bank First and City’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Bank First	$121.90 million	4.51	$45.44 million	$5.76	12.67
City	$235.11 million	5.23	$88.08 million	$5.83	14.11

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Bank First and City, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Bank First	0	0	1	0	3.00
City	0	0	0	0	N/A

Bank First presently has a consensus target price of $84.00, suggesting a potential upside of 15.10%. Given Bank First’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Bank First is more favorable than City.

Risk & Volatility

Bank First has a beta of 0.35, meaning that its stock price is 65% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, City has a beta of 0.56, meaning that its stock price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

26.3% of Bank First shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 64.1% of City shares are held by institutional investors. 7.6% of Bank First shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.6% of City shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Bank First and City’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Bank First	36.55%	13.94%	1.54%
City	38.11%	13.31%	1.50%

Dividends

Bank First pays an annual dividend of $0.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. City pays an annual dividend of $2.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Bank First pays out 15.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. City pays out 41.2% 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. Bank First has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years and City has raised its dividend for 9 consecutive years. City is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

City beats Bank First on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Bank First (Get Rating)

Bank First Corporation operates as a holding company for Bank First N.A. that provides consumer and commercial financial services to businesses, professionals, consumers, associations, individuals, and governmental authorities in Wisconsin. The company offers checking, savings, money market, cash management, retirement, and health savings accounts; other time deposits; certificates of deposit; and residential mortgage products. It also provides credit cards; ATM processing; insurance; data processing and other information technology; investment and safekeeping; treasury management; and online, telephone, and mobile banking services. The company's loan products include real estate loans, including commercial real estate, residential mortgage, and home equity loans; commercial and industrial loans for working capital, accounts receivable, inventory financing, and other business purposes; construction and development loans; residential 1-4 family loans; and consumer loans for personal and household purposes, including secured and unsecured installment loans, and revolving lines of credit. It operates through 21 offices in Manitowoc, Outagamie, Brown, Winnebago, Sheboygan, Waupaca, Ozaukee, Monroe, and Jefferson counties in Wisconsin. The company was formerly known as Bank First National Corporation and changed its name to Bank First Corporation in June 2019. Bank First Corporation was founded in 1894 and is headquartered in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.

About City (Get Rating)

City Holding Company operates as a holding company for City National Bank of West Virginia that provides various banking, trust and investment management, and other financial solutions in the United States. The company offers checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit and individual retirement accounts. It also provides commercial and industrial loans that consist of loans to corporate and other legal entity borrowers primarily in small to mid-size industrial and commercial companies; commercial real estate loans comprising commercial mortgages, which are secured by nonresidential and multi-family residential properties; residential real estate loans to consumers for the purchase or refinance of residence; first-priority home equity loans; consumer loans that are secured and unsecured by automobiles, boats, recreational vehicles, certificates of deposit, and other personal property; and demand deposit account overdrafts. In addition, the company offers mortgage banking services, including fixed and adjustable-rate mortgages, construction financing, land loans, production of conventional and government insured mortgages, secondary marketing, and mortgage servicing. Further, it provides deposit services for commercial customers comprising treasury management, lockbox, and other cash management services; merchant credit card services; wealth management, trust, investment, and custodial services for commercial and individual customers; and corporate trust and institutional custody, financial and estate planning, and retirement plan services, as well as automated-teller-machine, interactive-teller-machine, mobile banking, interactive voice response systems, and credit and debit card services. The company operates through a network of 94 branches and 905 full-time equivalent associates in West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio. City Holding Company was founded in 1957 and is headquartered in Charleston, West Virginia.

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