BANCORP 34 (OTCMKTS:BCTF) and Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) Financial Comparison

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) and BANCORP 34 (OTCMKTS:BCTF) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, risk and earnings.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

86.9% of Banc of California shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 6.5% of BANCORP 34 shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.7% of Banc of California shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 7.4% of BANCORP 34 shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Banc of California and BANCORP 34, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Banc of California	0	2	9	1	2.92
BANCORP 34	0	0	0	0	0.00

Banc of California currently has a consensus price target of $20.86, indicating a potential upside of 4.97%. Given Banc of California’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Banc of California is more favorable than BANCORP 34.

Profitability

This table compares Banc of California and BANCORP 34’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Banc of California	12.59%	8.66%	0.76%
BANCORP 34	14.51%	4.02%	0.38%

Risk & Volatility

Banc of California has a beta of 0.72, indicating that its stock price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BANCORP 34 has a beta of 0.18, indicating that its stock price is 82% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Banc of California and BANCORP 34″s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Banc of California	$1.82 billion	1.65	$228.97 million	$1.18	16.84
BANCORP 34	$54.19 million	1.77	$7.86 million	$1.06	13.25

Banc of California has higher revenue and earnings than BANCORP 34. BANCORP 34 is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Banc of California, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Banc of California beats BANCORP 34 on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Banc of California

Banc of California, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Banc of California that provides various banking products and services in California. The company offers deposit products, such as checking, savings, money market, demand, and time deposits; certificates of deposit; retirement accounts; and safe deposit boxes. It also provides real estate loans to professional developers and real estate investors for the acquisition, construction, refinancing, renovation, and on-going operation of commercial real estate properties; commercial real estate mortgage, residential real estate mortgage, and real estate construction and land loans; commercial loans and leases, such as equipment finance, other asset-based, venture capital, secured business, warehouse, and other lending services; small business administration loans; and consumer loans comprising personal, auto, and other loans, as well as home equity and revolving lines of credit. In addition, the company offers international banking, multi-state deposit, and asset and investment management services, as well as cash and treasury management services; and online, mobile, remote deposit, and telephone banking services. It serves small and middle-market businesses, venture capital firms, non-profit organizations, business owners, entrepreneurs, professionals, and high-net worth individuals. Banc of California, Inc. was founded in 1941 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, 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.