Private Bancorp of America (OTCMKTS:PBAM) and BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) Financial Comparison

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Private Bancorp of America and BancFirst, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Private Bancorp of America	0	0	1	1	3.50
BancFirst	1	2	0	0	1.67

Private Bancorp of America currently has a consensus target price of $60.50, suggesting a potential upside of 5.31%. BancFirst has a consensus target price of $113.33, suggesting a potential downside of 13.47%. Given Private Bancorp of America’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Private Bancorp of America is more favorable than BancFirst.

Profitability

This table compares Private Bancorp of America and BancFirst’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Private Bancorp of America	23.11%	17.54%	1.60%
BancFirst	24.05%	13.90%	1.66%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Private Bancorp of America and BancFirst”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Private Bancorp of America	$161.24 million	2.07	$35.82 million	$6.60	8.70
BancFirst	$908.71 million	4.79	$216.35 million	$6.61	19.82

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

13.5% of Private Bancorp of America shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 51.7% of BancFirst shares are owned by institutional investors. 32.4% of BancFirst shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Private Bancorp of America has a beta of 0.27, meaning that its stock price is 73% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BancFirst has a beta of 0.77, meaning that its stock price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

BancFirst beats Private Bancorp of America on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Private Bancorp of America

Private Bancorp of America, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for CalPrivate Bank that provides banking products and services to individuals and businesses in California. The company offers checking and savings, money market, certificate of deposit, sweep, zero balance, and individual retirement accounts; unsecured lines of credit, personal credit lines, and term loans; additional services, such as direct deposits, online banking, ATM and debit cards, credit cards, savings/line of credit overdraft protection, and safe deposit boxes; and certificate of deposit account registry services. It also provides treasury management, merchant card, bill pay, positive pay, e-statement, remote deposit capture, ACH origination, wire transfer, electronic payments and collections, electronic check acceptance, account reconciliation, cash vault, and gift and business credit cards, as well as funds management services. In addition, the company offers term credit facilities and loans, equipment and business expansion loans, working capital lines of credit, commercial real estate financing, construction financing, letters of credit, business start-up loans, loans for business acquisition and partner buyouts, owner-occupied commercial real estate loans, equipment, furniture and fixture, and other loans; and CDARS And ICS products. Further, it provides wealth management and legal services. The company has offices in La Jolla, San Diego, Coronado, Newport Beach, Beverly Hills, El Segundo, Temecula, Mission Valley, and Redlands. Private Bancorp of America, Inc. was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in La Jolla, California.

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.