Head to Head Comparison: American Business Bank (OTCMKTS:AMBZ) vs. PCB Bancorp (NASDAQ:PCB)

American Business Bank (OTCMKTS:AMBZ) and PCB Bancorp (NASDAQ:PCB) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, dividends, risk and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares American Business Bank and PCB Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
American Business Bank	26.85%	N/A	N/A
PCB Bancorp	17.89%	12.03%	1.14%

Dividends

American Business Bank pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. PCB Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. American Business Bank pays out 20.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. PCB Bancorp pays out 34.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. PCB Bancorp has increased its dividend for 7 consecutive years. PCB Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

9.9% of American Business Bank shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 33.0% of PCB Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 25.0% of PCB Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for American Business Bank and PCB Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
American Business Bank	0	0	0	0	0.00
PCB Bancorp	0	3	1	0	2.25

PCB Bancorp has a consensus price target of $24.50, indicating a potential upside of 0.33%. Given PCB Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe PCB Bancorp is more favorable than American Business Bank.

Risk and Volatility

American Business Bank has a beta of 0.27, suggesting that its stock price is 73% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, PCB Bancorp has a beta of 0.53, suggesting that its stock price is 47% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares American Business Bank and PCB Bancorp”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
American Business Bank	$199.36 million	3.23	$54.20 million	$5.86	12.36
PCB Bancorp	$209.37 million	1.66	$37.45 million	$2.57	9.50

American Business Bank has higher earnings, but lower revenue than PCB Bancorp. PCB Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than American Business Bank, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

PCB Bancorp beats American Business Bank on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About American Business Bank

American Business Bank, a California-chartered bank, provides banking products and services to small and medium-sized firms, non-profits, business executives, and professionals in Southern California. The company offers credit and depository; treasury management; asset-based lending; SBA lending; international banking comprising money transfers, import and export commercial letters of credit, standby letters of credit, documentary and clean collections, and foreign currency exchange services; and consulting and referral services. It operates regional loan production offices located in North Orange County, Orange County, South Bay, San Fernando Valley, Riverside County, Inland Empire, and Long Beach. American Business Bank was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.

About PCB Bancorp

PCB Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for PCB Bank that provides various banking products and services to small to medium-sized businesses, individuals, and professionals in Southern California. The company offers demand, savings, money market, and time deposits, as well as certificates of deposit; and trade finance, remote deposit capture, courier deposit services, positive pay services, zero balance accounts, and sweep accounts. It also provides real estate loans, including commercial and residential, Small Business Administration (SBA) property, and construction loans; commercial and industrial loans, such as commercial term and lines of credit, SBA commercial term, and SBA Paycheck Protection Program loans; and consumer loans comprising residential mortgage; and automobile loans, unsecured lines of credit, and term loans. In addition, the company offers access to account balances, online transfers, and online bill payment and electronic delivery of customer statements; and mobile banking solutions that include remote check deposit and mobile bill pay. Further, it provides automated teller machines; and banking by telephone, mail, personal appointment, debit cards, direct deposit, and cashier's checks, as well as treasury management, wire transfer, and automated clearing house services. The company operates through a network of full-service branches in Los Angeles and Orange counties, California; Carrollton and Dallas, Texas; and Englewood Cliffs and Palisade Park, New Jersey, and Bayside, New York. It also operates loan production offices in Los Angeles and Orange Counties, California; Annandale, Virginia; Atlanta, Georgia; Bellevue, Washington; Aurora, Colorado; and Carrollton, Texas. The company was formerly known as Pacific City Financial Corporation and changed its name to PCB Bancorp in July 2019. PCB Bancorp was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.