Critical Comparison: Fidelity D&D Bancorp (NASDAQ:FDBC) vs. ECB Bancorp (NASDAQ:ECBK)

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

Volatility and Risk

Fidelity D&D Bancorp has a beta of 0.83, suggesting that its stock price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ECB Bancorp has a beta of 0.46, suggesting that its stock price is 54% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Fidelity D&D Bancorp and ECB Bancorp”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Fidelity D&D Bancorp	$140.40 million	1.84	$28.20 million	$4.87	9.03
ECB Bancorp	$79.51 million	2.00	$7.77 million	$0.93	19.49

Fidelity D&D Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than ECB Bancorp. Fidelity D&D 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.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

20.1% of Fidelity D&D Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 30.3% of ECB Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 20.7% of Fidelity D&D Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 9.0% of ECB Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Fidelity D&D Bancorp and ECB Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Fidelity D&D Bancorp	0	1	0	0	2.00
ECB Bancorp	0	0	1	0	3.00

Profitability

This table compares Fidelity D&D Bancorp and ECB Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Fidelity D&D Bancorp	20.08%	12.56%	1.04%
ECB Bancorp	9.78%	4.59%	0.51%

Summary

Fidelity D&D Bancorp beats ECB Bancorp on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Fidelity D&D Bancorp

Fidelity D&D Bancorp, Inc. is a holding company, which engages in the provision of commercial banking services. It operates through the following segments: Commercial and Industrial, Commercial Real Estate, Consumer, and Residential Real Estate. The Commercial and Industrial segment refers to identified historic and/or the projected cash flows of the borrower and secondarily to the underlying collateral provided by the borrower. The Commercial Real Estate segment offers finances purchase of real estate, refinance existing obligations, and/or to provide capital. The Consumer segment includes home equity installment loans and lines of credit. The Residential Real Estate segment operates as a secured first lien position of the borrower’s residential real estate. The company was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Dunmore, PA.

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.