Head to Head Survey: BANCORP 34 (OTCMKTS:BCTF) and BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF)

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for BANCORP 34 and BancFirst, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
BANCORP 34	0	0	0	0	0.00
BancFirst	1	2	0	0	1.67

BancFirst has a consensus price target of $113.33, suggesting a potential downside of 12.09%. Given BancFirst’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe BancFirst is more favorable than BANCORP 34.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
BANCORP 34	9.64%	4.70%	0.44%
BancFirst	24.05%	13.90%	1.66%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

6.5% of BANCORP 34 shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 51.7% of BancFirst shares are held by institutional investors. 7.4% of BANCORP 34 shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 32.4% of BancFirst shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

BANCORP 34 has a beta of 0.23, suggesting that its share price is 77% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BancFirst has a beta of 0.77, suggesting that its share price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares BANCORP 34 and BancFirst”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
BANCORP 34	$56.34 million	1.49	$1.69 million	$0.75	16.75
BancFirst	$908.71 million	4.72	$216.35 million	$6.61	19.50

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

Summary

BancFirst beats BANCORP 34 on 13 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About BancFirst

BancFirst Corporation operates as the bank holding company for BancFirst that provides a range of commercial banking services to retail customers, and small to medium-sized businesses. The company operates through BancFirst Metropolitan Banks, BancFirst Community Banks, Pegasus, Worthington, and Other Financial Services segments. It offers checking accounts, negotiable order of withdrawal accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, sweep accounts, club accounts, individual retirement accounts, and certificates of deposit, as well as overdraft protection and auto draft services. The company also provides commercial and agricultural non-real estate loans for working capital, facilities acquisition or expansion, purchase of equipment, and other needs; lending services that include private banking, energy, commercial and residential real estate, and commercial and industrial loans; and loans to finance purchases of consumer goods, such as automobiles, boats, household goods, vacations, and education. In addition, it engages in the investment management and administration of trusts for individuals, corporations, and employee benefit plans, as well as bond trustee and paying agent business for various Oklahoma municipalities and governmental entities; and provision of item processing, research, and other correspondent banking services to financial institutions and governmental units. Further, the company provides insurance agency services; depository and funds transfer, collection, safe deposit box, cash management, and other services. It serves customers in non-metropolitan trade centers and cities in the metropolitan statistical areas of Oklahoma. The company was formerly known as United Community Corporation and changed its name to BancFirst Corporation in November 1988. BancFirst Corporation was incorporated in 1984 and is headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.