Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) & CB Financial Services (NASDAQ:CBFV) Critical Analysis

CB Financial Services (NASDAQ:CBFV) and Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends, earnings, institutional ownership and profitability.

Risk & Volatility

CB Financial Services has a beta of 0.6, indicating that its stock price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Peoples Bancorp has a beta of 0.79, indicating that its stock price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
CB Financial Services	15.43%	7.45%	0.70%
Peoples Bancorp	18.90%	11.07%	1.31%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares CB Financial Services and Peoples Bancorp”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
CB Financial Services	$81.62 million	1.83	$12.59 million	$2.39	12.24
Peoples Bancorp	$439.68 million	2.60	$117.21 million	$3.31	9.71

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for CB Financial Services and Peoples Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
CB Financial Services	0	2	0	0	2.00
Peoples Bancorp	0	3	2	0	2.40

CB Financial Services currently has a consensus price target of $26.00, indicating a potential downside of 11.11%. Peoples Bancorp has a consensus price target of $36.90, indicating a potential upside of 14.81%. Given Peoples Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Peoples Bancorp is more favorable than CB Financial Services.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

33.1% of CB Financial Services shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 60.7% of Peoples Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 9.4% of CB Financial Services shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.5% of Peoples Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

CB Financial Services pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Peoples Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.0%. CB Financial Services pays out 41.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Peoples Bancorp pays out 48.3% 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.

Summary

Peoples Bancorp beats CB Financial Services on 13 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 Peoples Bancorp

Peoples Bancorp Inc. operates as the holding company for Peoples Bank that provides commercial and consumer banking products and services. The company accepts various deposit products, including demand deposit accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, and governmental deposits; and provides commercial and industrial, commercial real estate, construction, finance, residential real estate, and consumer indirect and direct loans, as well as home equity lines of credit and overdrafts. It also offers debit and automated teller machine (ATM) cards; safe deposit rental facilities; money orders and cashier’s checks; and telephone, mobile, and online banking services. In addition, the company provides various life, health, and property and casualty insurance products; third-party insurance administration; interactive teller machines; insurance premium financing; check deposit and alert notification; commercial and technology equipment leasing; fiduciary and trust; underwriting, origination, and servicing of equipment leases, and equipment financing agreements; and asset management and administration services, as well as employee benefit, retirement, and health care plan administration services. Further, it offers brokerage services through an unaffiliated registered broker-dealers; insurance premium finance lending and leasing; and credit cards to individuals and businesses, as well as provides merchant credit card transaction processing, and person-to-person payment processing services. Peoples Bancorp Inc. was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Marietta, Ohio.