USCB Financial (NASDAQ:USCB – Get Free Report) and Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO – Get Free Report) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends and risk.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares USCB Financial and Peoples Bancorp”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| USCB Financial | $159.60 million | 2.63 | $26.10 million | $1.52 | 14.92 |
| Peoples Bancorp | $618.38 million | 2.29 | $106.78 million | $3.31 | 11.89 |
Insider and Institutional Ownership
61.3% of USCB Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 60.7% of Peoples Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 27.4% of USCB Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.3% of Peoples Bancorp 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 Ratings
This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for USCB Financial and Peoples Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| USCB Financial | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3.17 |
| Peoples Bancorp | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2.60 |
USCB Financial currently has a consensus target price of $24.33, suggesting a potential upside of 7.26%. Peoples Bancorp has a consensus target price of $42.00, suggesting a potential upside of 6.74%. Given USCB Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe USCB Financial is more favorable than Peoples Bancorp.
Risk & Volatility
USCB Financial has a beta of 0.47, indicating that its share price is 53% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Peoples Bancorp has a beta of 0.59, indicating that its share price is 41% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Dividends
USCB Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.50 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Peoples Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. USCB Financial pays out 32.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Peoples Bancorp pays out 50.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. USCB Financial has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years and Peoples Bancorp has increased its dividend for 10 consecutive years. Peoples Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Profitability
This table compares USCB Financial and Peoples Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| USCB Financial | 17.24% | 15.77% | 1.22% |
| Peoples Bancorp | 19.17% | 10.71% | 1.35% |
Summary
USCB Financial beats Peoples Bancorp on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
About USCB Financial
USCB Financial Holdings, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for U.S. Century Bank that engages in the provision of various personal and business banking products and services in the United States. It accepts various deposit products, including commercial and consumer checking, money market deposit, savings, and time deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. It also offers loan products, such as small business administration loans, yacht financing, residential and commercial real estate loans; commercial and industrial loans; foreign bank loans; and secured and unsecured consumer loans comprising personal loans, overdrafts, and deposit account collateralized loans. The company also offers lockbox, treasury, commercial payments, cash management, and online banking services, as well as provides title insurance policies for real estate transactions. USCB Financial Holdings, Inc. was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Miami, Florida.
About Peoples Bancorp
Peoples Bancorp Inc. operates as the holding company for Peoples Bank that provides commercial and consumer banking products and services. The company accepts various deposit products, including demand deposit accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, and governmental deposits; and provides commercial and industrial, commercial real estate, construction, finance, residential real estate, and consumer indirect and direct loans, as well as home equity lines of credit and overdrafts. It also offers debit and automated teller machine (ATM) cards; safe deposit rental facilities; money orders and cashier’s checks; and telephone, mobile, and online banking services. In addition, the company provides various life, health, and property and casualty insurance products; third-party insurance administration; interactive teller machines; insurance premium financing; check deposit and alert notification; commercial and technology equipment leasing; fiduciary and trust; underwriting, origination, and servicing of equipment leases, and equipment financing agreements; and asset management and administration services, as well as employee benefit, retirement, and health care plan administration services. Further, it offers brokerage services through an unaffiliated registered broker-dealers; insurance premium finance lending and leasing; and credit cards to individuals and businesses, as well as provides merchant credit card transaction processing, and person-to-person payment processing services. Peoples Bancorp Inc. was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Marietta, Ohio.
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