How Much is Citizens & Northern's (NASDAQ:CZNC) CEO Getting Paid?

Brad Scovill has been the CEO of Citizens & Northern Corporation (NASDAQ:CZNC) since 2015, and this article will examine the executive's compensation with respect to the overall performance of the company. This analysis will also evaluate the appropriateness of CEO compensation when taking into account the earnings and shareholder returns of the company.

Check out our latest analysis for Citizens & Northern

Comparing Citizens & Northern Corporation's CEO Compensation With the industry

According to our data, Citizens & Northern Corporation has a market capitalization of US$297m, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth US$926k over the year to December 2019. That's a fairly small increase of 7.7% over the previous year. While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth acknowledging that the salary portion is lower, valued at US$437k.

For comparison, other companies in the same industry with market capitalizations ranging between US$100m and US$400m had a median total CEO compensation of US$816k. So it looks like Citizens & Northern compensates Brad Scovill in line with the median for the industry. What's more, Brad Scovill holds US$1.3m worth of shares in the company in their own name.

On an industry level, around 43% of total compensation represents salary and 57% is other remuneration. Our data reveals that Citizens & Northern allocates salary more or less in line with the wider market. If total compensation is slanted towards non-salary benefits, it indicates that CEO pay is linked to company performance.

Citizens & Northern Corporation's Growth

Over the last three years, Citizens & Northern Corporation has shrunk its earnings per share by 1.0% per year. Its revenue is up 15% over the last year.

Its a bit disappointing to see that the company has failed to grow its EPS. There's no doubt that the silver lining is that revenue is up. But it isn't sufficiently fast growth to overlook the fact that EPS has gone backwards over three years. It's hard to argue the company is firing on all cylinders, so shareholders might be averse to high CEO remuneration. Looking ahead, you might want to check this free visual report on analyst forecasts for the company's future earnings..

Has Citizens & Northern Corporation Been A Good Investment?

Since shareholders would have lost about 15% over three years, some Citizens & Northern Corporation investors would surely be feeling negative emotions. Therefore, it might be upsetting for shareholders if the CEO were paid generously.

In Summary...

As we touched on above, Citizens & Northern Corporation 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, EPS growth and total shareholder return have been negative for the last three years. We'd stop short of saying compensation is inappropriate, but we would understand if shareholders had questions regarding a future raise.

While it is important to pay attention to CEO remuneration, investors should also consider other elements of the business. That's why we did some digging and identified 2 warning signs for Citizens & Northern that you should be aware of before investing.

Arguably, business quality is much more important than CEO compensation levels. So check out this free list of interesting companies that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

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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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