Financial Contrast: California BanCorp (NASDAQ:BCAL) vs. BANCORP 34 (OTCMKTS:BCTF)
by Renee Jackson · The Cerbat GemCalifornia BanCorp (NASDAQ:BCAL – Get Free Report) and BANCORP 34 (OTCMKTS:BCTF – Get Free Report) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation and earnings.
Profitability
This table compares California BanCorp and BANCORP 34’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| California BanCorp | 26.26% | 11.85% | 1.59% |
| BANCORP 34 | 11.76% | 4.02% | 0.38% |
Risk and Volatility
California BanCorp has a beta of 1.18, meaning that its share price is 18% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BANCORP 34 has a beta of 0.17, meaning that its share price is 83% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for California BanCorp and BANCORP 34, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| California BanCorp | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 3.40 |
| BANCORP 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
California BanCorp currently has a consensus target price of $20.33, indicating a potential upside of 4.35%. Given California BanCorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe California BanCorp is more favorable than BANCORP 34.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares California BanCorp and BANCORP 34″s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| California BanCorp | $184.56 million | 3.41 | $5.43 million | $1.94 | 10.04 |
| BANCORP 34 | $56.34 million | 1.63 | $1.69 million | $0.88 | 15.28 |
California BanCorp has higher revenue and earnings than BANCORP 34. California BanCorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than BANCORP 34, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
55.4% of California BanCorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 6.5% of BANCORP 34 shares are held by institutional investors. 14.8% of California BanCorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 7.4% of BANCORP 34 shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Summary
California BanCorp beats BANCORP 34 on 14 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About California BanCorp
Southern California Bancorp operates as the holding company for Bank of Southern California, N.A. that provides various financial products to individuals, professionals, and small-to medium-sized businesses. The company offers checking, personal and business savings, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. It also provides home equity lines of credit, business loans and lines of credit, commercial real estate and construction loans, small business administration loans, letters of credit, and personal and business credit cards. In addition, the company provides cash vault, sweep accounts, and remote deposit capture services; online and mobile banking services; courier service; lockbox services; and merchant services. It operates branches in San Diego, Orange, Ventura, Los Angeles, and Riverside counties, as well as the Inland Empire. The company was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.
About BANCORP 34
Bancorp 34, Inc. operates as the holding company for Bank 34 that offers various banking products and services to individuals and businesses in the United States. It accepts various deposit products, such as savings accounts, checking accounts, money market accounts, demand and time deposits, NOW accounts, and individual retirement accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company also provides term, working capital, construction, USDA, small business administration, equipment, assisted living and skilled nursing, renewable energy and solar equipment, and commercial real estate loans; and small to medium size business and business acquisitions financing; lines of credit; multi-family finance; and employee stock ownership plans, HOA lending, and investor pools of single family rentals. In addition, it offers credit and debit cards; safe deposit boxes; treasury management products; and merchant card processing, cash management, e-banking, mobile and online banking, bill payment, and merchant capture services. The company operates through its network of full-service branches in Scottsdale and Arizona, as well as Alamogordo and Las Cruces, New Mexico. Bancorp 34, Inc. was founded in 1934 and is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona.