Reviewing BNCCORP (OTCMKTS:BNCC) & Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB)

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) and BNCCORP (OTCMKTS:BNCC) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, dividends, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

83.0% of Associated Banc shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of Associated Banc shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 28.4% of BNCCORP shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Associated Banc and BNCCORP, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Associated Banc	0	8	3	0	2.27
BNCCORP	0	0	0	0	0.00

Associated Banc currently has a consensus target price of $29.20, suggesting a potential upside of 5.13%. Given Associated Banc’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Associated Banc is more favorable than BNCCORP.

Volatility and Risk

Associated Banc has a beta of 0.8, indicating that its stock price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BNCCORP has a beta of 0.37, indicating that its stock price is 63% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Associated Banc and BNCCORP’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Associated Banc	19.31%	10.25%	1.07%
BNCCORP	15.94%	8.95%	0.91%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Associated Banc and BNCCORP”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Associated Banc	$2.46 billion	1.87	$474.78 million	$2.77	10.03
BNCCORP	$52.44 million	2.50	$7.93 million	$2.50	14.80

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

Summary

Associated Banc beats BNCCORP on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Associated Banc

Associated Banc-Corp, a bank holding company, provides various banking and nonbanking products to individuals and businesses in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Minnesota. The company offers lending solutions, including commercial loans and lines of credit, commercial real estate financing, construction loans, letters of credit, leasing, asset based lending and equipment finance, loan syndications products, residential mortgages, home equity loans and lines of credit, personal and installment loans, auto finance and business loans, and business lines of credit. It also provides deposit and cash management solutions, such as commercial checking and interest-bearing deposit products, cash vault and night depository services, liquidity solutions, payables and receivables solutions, and information services; specialized financial services, such as interest rate risk management and foreign exchange solutions; fiduciary services, such as administration of pension, profit-sharing and other employee benefit plans, fiduciary and corporate agency services, and institutional asset management services; and investable funds solutions, including savings, money market deposit accounts, IRA accounts, CDs, fixed and variable annuities, full-service, discount, and online investment brokerage; investment advisory services; and trust and investment management accounts. In addition, the company offers deposit and transactional solutions, including checking, credit, debit and pre-paid cards, online banking and bill pay; and money transfer services. Associated Banc-Corp was founded in 1861 and is headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

About BNCCORP

BNCCORP, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for BNC National Bank that provides community banking, retail and mortgage banking, and wealth management services to businesses and consumers. The company offers commercial banking services, including business financing, commercial real estate lending, small business administration loans, business checking, cash management, corporate credit cards, and merchant services to small to middle-market businesses. It also provides retail and mortgage banking services, such as personal checking and savings products, personal loans, and card services; and residential loans through a consumer direct channel, as well as a retail channel. In addition, the company offers wealth management solutions, including 401(k) and other retirement plans, trust services, and personal wealth advisory services. It offers community banking and wealth management services through 11 locations in Arizona and North Dakota; and mortgage banking services through 7 locations in Arizona, North Dakota, Illinois, and Kansas. The company was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Bismarck, North Dakota.