Analyzing Community Bancorp (OTCMKTS:CMTV) and Bank First (NASDAQ:BFC)

Community Bancorp (OTCMKTS:CMTV) and Bank First (NASDAQ:BFC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation and profitability.

Dividends

Community Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.8%. Bank First pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. Community Bancorp pays out 44.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Bank First pays out 22.1% 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.

Volatility & Risk

Community Bancorp has a beta of 0.31, indicating that its share price is 69% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bank First has a beta of 0.34, indicating that its share price is 66% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

30.0% of Bank First shares are held by institutional investors. 9.3% of Community Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.1% of Bank First shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Community Bancorp and Bank First”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Community Bancorp	$54.08 million	1.72	$13.43 million	$2.18	7.64
Bank First	$141.58 million	7.18	$74.51 million	$8.14	12.48

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Community Bancorp and Bank First, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Community Bancorp	0	0	0	0	0.00
Bank First	0	2	0	0	2.00

Bank First has a consensus price target of $104.00, suggesting a potential upside of 2.41%. Given Bank First’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Bank First is more favorable than Community Bancorp.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Community Bancorp	20.29%	13.48%	1.09%
Bank First	32.02%	10.10%	1.49%

Summary

Bank First beats Community Bancorp on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Community Bancorp

Community Bancorp. operates as the bank holding company for Community National Bank that provides financial services to individuals, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and municipalities in northern and central Vermont. It offers financing for commercial business properties, equipment, inventories, and accounts receivable, as well as standby letters of credit; and business checking and other deposit accounts, cash management services, repurchase agreements, ACH and wire transfer services, card processing, and remote deposit capture. The company also provides commercial real estate lending products, including financing for commercial developers and investors, residential builders and developers, and community development entities, including credit products to facilitate the purchase of land and/or build structures for business; to develop residential or commercial properties; and for real estate secured financing of existing businesses, as well as financing to startups and other small businesses. In addition, it offers residential real estate lending products, including fixed-rate and adjustable rate residential mortgage and home equity loans; and retail credit services, which includes personal, automobile, and boat/recreational vehicle loans. The company also provides municipal and institutional banking services, such as deposit account services, term and tax-exempt loans, and lines of credit to state and local governments, schools, charities, membership, and not-for-profit associations. Further, it offers consumer banking services, including checking accounts, savings programs, ATMs, debit and credit cards, night deposit facilities, and online, mobile and telephone banking services. Community Bancorp. was founded in 1851 and is headquartered in Derby, Vermont.

About Bank First

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. It offers checking, savings, money market, cash management, retirement, and health savings accounts; other time deposits; certificates of deposit; and residential mortgage products. 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 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 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.