Contrasting First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) & BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ) (NASDAQ:BCBP)

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) and BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ) (NASDAQ:BCBP) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends and risk.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

72.6% of First Commonwealth Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 36.0% of BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ) shares are held by institutional investors. 2.2% of First Commonwealth Financial shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 15.9% of BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ) shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

First Commonwealth Financial has a beta of 0.82, indicating that its share price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ) has a beta of 0.77, indicating that its share price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares First Commonwealth Financial and BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ)’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Commonwealth Financial	20.00%	10.12%	1.25%
BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ)	1.50%	0.95%	0.08%

Dividends

First Commonwealth Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.54 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ) pays an annual dividend of $0.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 8.2%. First Commonwealth Financial pays out 39.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ) pays out 1,280.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. First Commonwealth Financial has increased its dividend for 9 consecutive years.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for First Commonwealth Financial and BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ), as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Commonwealth Financial	0	3	3	0	2.50
BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ)	1	3	0	0	1.75

First Commonwealth Financial presently has a consensus price target of $19.63, indicating a potential upside of 25.70%. BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ) has a consensus price target of $9.25, indicating a potential upside of 19.05%. Given First Commonwealth Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe First Commonwealth Financial is more favorable than BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ).

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares First Commonwealth Financial and BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ)”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Commonwealth Financial	$505.04 million	3.23	$142.57 million	$1.38	11.31
BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ)	$98.56 million	1.36	$18.62 million	$0.05	155.40

First Commonwealth Financial has higher revenue and earnings than BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ). First Commonwealth Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ), indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

First Commonwealth Financial beats BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ) on 14 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About First Commonwealth Financial

First Commonwealth Financial Corporation, a financial holding company, provides various consumer and commercial banking services in the United States. Its consumer services include personal checking accounts, interest-earning checking accounts, savings and health savings accounts, insured money market accounts, debit cards, investment certificates, fixed and variable rate certificates of deposit, mortgage loans, secured and unsecured installment loans, construction and real estate loans, safe deposit facilities, credit cards, credit lines with overdraft checking protection, IRA accounts, and automated teller machine (atm) services, as well as internet, mobile, and telephone banking services. The company's commercial banking services comprise commercial lending, business checking accounts, online account management services, payroll direct deposits, commercial cash management services, and repurchase agreements, as well as ACH origination services. In addition, it offers various trust and asset management services; auto, home, and business insurance, as well as term life insurance; and annuities, mutual funds, and stock and bond brokerage services through a broker-dealer and insurance brokers. The company was founded in 1934 and is headquartered in Indiana, Pennsylvania.

About BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ)

BCB Bancorp, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for BCB Community Bank that engages in the provision of banking products and services to businesses and individuals in the United States. The company offers insured deposit products, including savings and club accounts, interest and non-interest-bearing demand accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts. It also provides various loan products, such as commercial and multi-family real estate loans, one-to-four family mortgage loans, commercial business loans, construction loans, home equity loans, and consumer loans. In addition, the company offers retail and commercial banking services comprising wire transfer, money order, safe deposit box, night depository, debit card, online and mobile banking, fraud detection, and automated teller services. The company was founded in 2000 and is based in Bayonne, New Jersey.