ECB Bancorp (NASDAQ:ECBK) & Central Valley Community Bancorp (NASDAQ:CVCY) Head-To-Head Analysis

ECB Bancorp (NASDAQ:ECBK) and Central Valley Community Bancorp (NASDAQ:CVCY) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and risk.

Risk & Volatility

ECB Bancorp has a beta of 0.27, meaning that its stock price is 73% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Central Valley Community Bancorp has a beta of 0.82, meaning that its stock price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares ECB Bancorp and Central Valley Community Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ECB Bancorp	5.14%	1.39%	0.21%
Central Valley Community Bancorp	27.32%	15.52%	1.11%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

19.2% of ECB Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 50.6% of Central Valley Community Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.7% of ECB Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 15.9% of Central Valley Community Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares ECB Bancorp and Central Valley Community Bancorp’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ECB Bancorp	$30.55 million	3.50	$2.72 million	$0.28	41.61
Central Valley Community Bancorp	$88.04 million	1.91	$26.65 million	$2.33	6.10

Central Valley Community Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than ECB Bancorp. Central Valley Community Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than ECB Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for ECB Bancorp and Central Valley Community Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ECB Bancorp	0	0	0	0	N/A
Central Valley Community Bancorp	0	0	1	0	3.00

Central Valley Community Bancorp has a consensus target price of $20.00, suggesting a potential upside of 40.65%. Given Central Valley Community Bancorp’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Central Valley Community Bancorp is more favorable than ECB Bancorp.

Summary

Central Valley Community Bancorp beats ECB Bancorp on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ECB Bancorp

ECB Bancorp, Inc. operating as a holding company for Everett Co-operative Bank that provides various banking products and services. The company accepts various deposit products, including certificate of deposit accounts, IRAs, money market accounts, savings accounts, demand deposit accounts, and interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing checking accounts. It also offers one- to four-family residential real estate, commercial real estate and multifamily real estate, construction and land, commercial, and consumer loans, as well as home equity loans and lines of credit. In addition, the company invests in securities, consisting primarily of U.S. government and federal agency obligations, mortgage-backed securities, and corporate bonds. ECB Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1890 and is based in Everett, Massachusetts.

About Central Valley Community Bancorp

Central Valley Community Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for the Central Valley Community Bank that provides various commercial banking services to small and middle-market businesses and individuals in the central valley area of California. The company accepts demand, savings, and time deposits; certificates of deposit; and non-interest-bearing demand deposits, as well as provides NOW and money market accounts. It also provides products, such as commercial and industrial loans, as well as loans secured by crop production and livestock; owner occupied and investor commercial real estate, real estate construction and other land, agricultural real estate, and other real estate loans; and equity loans and lines of credit, and installment and other consumer loans. In addition, the company offers domestic and international wire transfer, safe deposit box, Internet banking, inquiry, account status, bill paying, account transfers, and cash management and other customary banking services. Central Valley Community Bancorp was founded in 1979 and is based in Fresno, California.