Yahoo Finance Should You Worry About ACNB Corporation's (NASDAQ:ACNB) CEO Pay Cheque?
James Helt became the CEO of ACNB Corporation (NASDAQ:ACNB) in 2017. This analysis aims first to contrast CEO compensation with other companies that have similar market capitalization. Next, we'll consider growth that the business demonstrates. And finally we will reflect on how common stockholders have fared in the last few years, as a secondary measure of performance. This process should give us an idea about how appropriately the CEO is paid.
See our latest analysis for ACNB
How Does James Helt's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?
Our data indicates that ACNB Corporation is worth US$249m, and total annual CEO compensation was reported as US$558k for the year to December 2018. We think total compensation is more important but we note that the CEO salary is lower, at US$400k. We examined companies with market caps from US$100m to US$400m, and discovered that the median CEO total compensation of that group was US$1.1m.
A first glance this seems like a real positive for shareholders, since James Helt is paid less than the average total compensation paid by similar sized companies. However, before we heap on the praise, we should delve deeper to understand business performance.
The graphic below shows how CEO compensation at ACNB has changed from year to year.
Is ACNB Corporation Growing?
Over the last three years ACNB Corporation has grown its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 28% per year (using a line of best fit). In the last year, its revenue is up 7.7%.
Overall this is a positive result for shareholders, showing that the company has improved in recent years. It's nice to see a little revenue growth, as this is consistent with healthy business conditions. Although we don't have analyst forecasts you might want to assess this data-rich visualization of earnings, revenue and cash flow.
Has ACNB Corporation Been A Good Investment?
ACNB Corporation has generated a total shareholder return of 25% over three years, so most shareholders would be reasonably content. But they probably don't want to see the CEO paid more than is normal for companies around the same size.
In Summary...
It looks like ACNB Corporation pays its CEO less than similar sized companies.
Many would consider this to indicate that the pay is modest since the business is growing. While some might be keen on seeing higher returns, our short analysis has not produced any evidence to suggest James Helt is overcompensated. Few would complain about reasonable CEO remuneration when the business is growing earnings per share. It would be an additional positive if insiders are buying shares. So you may want to check if insiders are buying ACNB shares with their own money (free access).
Important note: ACNB may not be the best stock to buy. You might find something better in this list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.
If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. 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. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.
