DBS Group (OTCMKTS:DBSDY) and Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC) Financial Contrast

Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC) and DBS Group (OTCMKTS:DBSDY) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, valuation, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Dividends

Nicolet Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. DBS Group pays an annual dividend of $6.22 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.9%. Nicolet Bankshares pays out 24.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Profitability

This table compares Nicolet Bankshares and DBS Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Nicolet Bankshares	14.69%	9.71%	1.14%
DBS Group	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for Nicolet Bankshares and DBS Group, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Nicolet Bankshares	0	3	1	0	2.25
DBS Group	0	1	1	0	2.50

Nicolet Bankshares presently has a consensus price target of $88.50, indicating a potential upside of 6.98%. Given Nicolet Bankshares’ higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Nicolet Bankshares is more favorable than DBS Group.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

43.1% of Nicolet Bankshares shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.2% of DBS Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 16.4% of Nicolet Bankshares shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Nicolet Bankshares and DBS Group’s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Nicolet Bankshares	$277.85 million	4.42	$61.52 million	$4.06	20.38
DBS Group	$25.60 billion	2.67	$7.49 billion	N/A	N/A

DBS Group has higher revenue and earnings than Nicolet Bankshares.

Volatility & Risk

Nicolet Bankshares has a beta of 0.74, suggesting that its stock price is 26% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, DBS Group has a beta of 0.91, suggesting that its stock price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Nicolet Bankshares beats DBS Group on 7 of the 13 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 DBS Group

DBS Group Holdings Ltd provides commercial banking and financial services in Singapore, Hong Kong, rest of Greater China, South and Southeast Asia, and internationally. The company's Consumer Banking/Wealth Management segment offers banking and related financial services, including current and savings accounts, fixed deposits, loans and home finance, cards, payments, investment, and insurance products for individual customers. Its Institutional Banking segment provides financial services and products for bank and non-bank financial institutions, government-linked companies, large corporates, and small and medium sized businesses. Its products and services comprise short-term working capital financing and specialized lending; cash management, trade finance, and securities and fiduciary services; treasury and markets products; and corporate finance and advisory banking, as well as capital markets solutions. The company's Treasury Markets segment is involved in the structuring, market-making, and trading in a range of treasury products. DBS Group Holdings Ltd was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Singapore.