Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC – Get Free Report) and Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR – Get Free Report) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations and dividends.
Dividends
Nicolet Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $1.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Sandy Spring Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.4%. Nicolet Bankshares pays out 13.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Sandy Spring Bancorp pays out 302.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.
Profitability
This table compares Nicolet Bankshares and Sandy Spring Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Nicolet Bankshares | 23.83% | 10.95% | 1.41% |
| Sandy Spring Bancorp | 2.65% | 5.31% | 0.61% |
Earnings & Valuation
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Nicolet Bankshares | $349.12 million | 5.09 | $124.06 million | $8.03 | 14.51 |
| Sandy Spring Bancorp | $404.22 million | 3.44 | $19.93 million | $0.45 | 68.53 |
Nicolet Bankshares has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Sandy Spring Bancorp. Nicolet Bankshares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Sandy Spring Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
43.1% of Nicolet Bankshares shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 66.9% of Sandy Spring Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 16.4% of Nicolet Bankshares shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.4% of Sandy Spring Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of current ratings for Nicolet Bankshares and Sandy Spring Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Nicolet Bankshares | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2.25 |
| Sandy Spring Bancorp | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
Nicolet Bankshares currently has a consensus target price of $119.00, suggesting a potential upside of 2.15%. Sandy Spring Bancorp has a consensus target price of $29.33, suggesting a potential downside of 4.89%. Given Nicolet Bankshares’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Nicolet Bankshares is more favorable than Sandy Spring Bancorp.
Volatility and Risk
Nicolet Bankshares has a beta of 0.77, meaning that its stock price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sandy Spring Bancorp has a beta of 0.97, meaning that its stock price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Nicolet Bankshares beats Sandy Spring Bancorp on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Nicolet Bankshares
Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Nicolet National Bank that provides banking products and services for businesses and individuals in Wisconsin and Michigan. The company accepts checking, savings, and money market accounts; various certificates of deposit; and individual retirement accounts. It also offers commercial loans, including commercial, industrial, and business loans and lines of credit; commercial real estate loans; agricultural (AG) production and AG real estate loans; commercial real estate investment real estate loans; construction and land development loans; residential real estate loans, such as residential first lien and junior lien mortgages, home equity loans, lines of credit, and residential construction loans; and consumer loans. In addition, the company provides cash management, international banking, personal brokerage, safe deposit boxes, and trust and fiduciary services, as well as wealth management and retirement plan services. Further, it offers mortgage refinancing; online services, such as commercial, retail, and trust online banking; automated bill payment, mobile banking deposits and account access, and remote deposit capture services; and other services consisting of wire transfers, debit cards, credit cards, pre-paid gift cards, direct deposits, and official bank checks, as well as facilitates crop insurance products. The company was formerly known as Green Bay Financial Corporation and changed its name to Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. in March 2002. The company was incorporated in 2000 and is headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
About Sandy Spring Bancorp
Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Sandy Spring Bank that provides commercial and retail banking, mortgage, private banking, and trust services to individuals and businesses in the United States. It offers financial products and services, including various loan and deposit products. Its loan products include commercial real estate loans, construction loans, and business loans; residential real estate loans; and consumer loans comprising home equity loans and lines, installment loans, and personal lines of credit. The company provides investment management, financial planning, and wealth management services. Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1868 and is headquartered in Olney, Maryland.
Receive News & Ratings for Nicolet Bankshares Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Nicolet Bankshares and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
