How Much Is Emclaire Financial Corp (NASDAQ:EMCF) CEO Getting Paid?

This article will reflect on the compensation paid to Bill Marsh who has served as CEO of Emclaire Financial Corp (NASDAQ:EMCF) since 2009. This analysis will also assess whether Emclaire Financial pays its CEO appropriately, considering recent earnings growth and total shareholder returns.

See our latest analysis for Emclaire Financial

Comparing Emclaire Financial Corp's CEO Compensation With the industry

At the time of writing, our data shows that Emclaire Financial Corp has a market capitalization of US$79m, and reported total annual CEO compensation of US$626k for the year to December 2019. That's a slightly lower by 6.0% over the previous year. We note that the salary portion, which stands at US$375.7k constitutes the majority of total compensation received by the CEO.

On comparing similar-sized companies in the industry with market capitalizations below US$200m, we found that the median total CEO compensation was US$615k. So it looks like Emclaire Financial compensates Bill Marsh in line with the median for the industry. Moreover, Bill Marsh also holds US$2.0m worth of Emclaire Financial stock directly under their own name, which reveals to us that they have a significant personal stake in the company.

Speaking on an industry level, nearly 43% of total compensation represents salary, while the remainder of 57% is other remuneration. It's interesting to note that Emclaire Financial pays out a greater portion of remuneration through salary, compared to the industry. If salary is the major component in total compensation, it suggests that the CEO receives a higher fixed proportion of the total compensation, regardless of performance.

A Look at Emclaire Financial Corp's Growth Numbers

Over the last three years, Emclaire Financial Corp has shrunk its earnings per share by 2.6% per year. In the last year, its revenue is down 11%.

The lack of EPS growth is certainly unimpressive. This is compounded by the fact revenue is actually down on last year. These factors suggest that the business performance wouldn't really justify a high pay packet for the CEO. We don't have analyst forecasts, but you could get a better understanding of its growth by checking out this more detailed historical graph of earnings, revenue and cash flow.

Has Emclaire Financial Corp Been A Good Investment?

With a three year total loss of 0.8% for the shareholders, Emclaire Financial Corp would certainly have some dissatisfied shareholders. Therefore, it might be upsetting for shareholders if the CEO were paid generously.

In Summary...

As previously discussed, Bill is compensated close to the median for companies of its size, and which belong to the same industry. In the meantime, the company has reported declining EPS growth and shareholder returns over the last three years. It's tough to call out the compensation as inappropriate, but shareholders might not favor a raise before company performance improves.

While CEO pay is an important factor to be aware of, there are other areas that investors should be mindful of as well. We've identified 1 warning sign for Emclaire Financial that investors should be aware of in a dynamic business environment.

Important note: Emclaire Financial 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.

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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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