A Look At Citizens Community Bancorp's (NASDAQ:CZWI) CEO Remuneration

This article will reflect on the compensation paid to Steve Bianchi who has served as CEO of Citizens Community Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CZWI) since 2016. This analysis will also evaluate the appropriateness of CEO compensation when taking into account the earnings and shareholder returns of the company.

See our latest analysis for Citizens Community Bancorp

How Does Total Compensation For Steve Bianchi Compare With Other Companies In The Industry?

At the time of writing, our data shows that Citizens Community Bancorp, Inc. has a market capitalization of US$74m, and reported total annual CEO compensation of US$514k for the year to December 2019. We note that's a decrease of 10% compared to last year. Notably, the salary which is US$330.0k, represents most of the total compensation being paid.

In comparison with other companies in the industry with market capitalizations under US$200m, the reported median total CEO compensation was US$650k. This suggests that Citizens Community Bancorp remunerates its CEO largely in line with the industry average. Moreover, Steve Bianchi also holds US$500k worth of Citizens Community Bancorp stock directly under their own name.

Speaking on an industry level, nearly 43% of total compensation represents salary, while the remainder of 57% is other remuneration. According to our research, Citizens Community Bancorp has allocated a higher percentage of pay to salary in comparison to the wider industry. If total compensation veers towards salary, it suggests that the variable portion - which is generally tied to performance, is lower.

A Look at Citizens Community Bancorp, Inc.'s Growth Numbers

Over the past three years, Citizens Community Bancorp, Inc. has seen its earnings per share (EPS) grow by 14% per year. Its revenue is up 25% over the last year.

This demonstrates that the company has been improving recently and is good news for the shareholders. It's also good to see decent revenue growth in the last year, suggesting the business is healthy and growing. Looking ahead, you might want to check this free visual report on analyst forecasts for the company's future earnings..

Has Citizens Community Bancorp, Inc. Been A Good Investment?

Since shareholders would have lost about 51% over three years, some Citizens Community Bancorp, Inc. investors would surely be feeling negative emotions. Therefore, it might be upsetting for shareholders if the CEO were paid generously.

To Conclude...

As we touched on above, Citizens Community Bancorp, Inc. is currently paying a compensation that's close to the median pay for CEOs of companies belonging to the same industry and with similar market capitalizations. On the other hand, the company has logged negative shareholder returns over the previous three years. But earnings growth is moving in a favorable direction, certainly a positive sign. Considering positive earnings growth, we'd say compensation is fair, but shareholders may be wary of a bump in pay before the company logs positive returns.

CEO compensation is an important area to keep your eyes on, but we've also need to pay attention to other attributes of the company. We identified 3 warning signs for Citizens Community Bancorp (1 makes us a bit uncomfortable!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

Important note: Citizens Community Bancorp is an exciting stock, but we understand investors may be looking for an unencumbered balance sheet and blockbuster returns. You might find something better in this list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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