Reviewing Community Bancorp (NASDAQ:CMTV) and OptimumBank (NASDAQ:OPHC)

Community Bancorp (NASDAQ:CMTV) and OptimumBank (NASDAQ:OPHC) are both small-cap financial services companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends and valuation.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

7.4% of OptimumBank shares are held by institutional investors. 8.5% of Community Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 18.7% of OptimumBank shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk & Volatility

Community Bancorp has a beta of 0.25, meaning that its share price is 75% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, OptimumBank has a beta of 0.28, meaning that its share price is 72% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Community Bancorp and OptimumBank”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Community Bancorp	$68.79 million	2.90	$16.97 million	$3.01	11.90
OptimumBank	$49.36 million	1.32	$6.28 million	$1.00	5.34

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

Profitability

This table compares Community Bancorp and OptimumBank’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Community Bancorp	24.67%	15.77%	1.39%
OptimumBank	19.62%	14.10%	1.31%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Community Bancorp and OptimumBank, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Community Bancorp	0	0	1	0	3.00
OptimumBank	0	0	1	0	3.00

OptimumBank has a consensus target price of $6.50, indicating a potential upside of 21.72%. Given OptimumBank’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe OptimumBank is more favorable than Community Bancorp.

Summary

Community Bancorp beats OptimumBank on 8 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Community Bancorp

Community Bancorp. operates as the bank holding company for Community National Bank that provides a range of retail banking services to residents, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and municipalities. It provides various consumer banking products and services, including checking accounts, savings programs, ATMs, debit/credit cards, and night deposit facilities, as well as online, mobile, and telephone banking. The company’s business banking products and services comprise credit products for various business purposes, including financing for commercial business properties, equipment, inventories, and accounts receivable, as well as letters of credit; and business checking and other deposit accounts, cash management services, repurchase agreements, ACH and wire transfer services, and remote deposit capture. It offers commercial real estate lending products for commercial developers and investors, residential builders and developers, and community development entities, which include credit products to facilitate the purchase of land and/or build structures for business, for investors to develop residential or commercial properties, and for real estate secured financing of existing businesses, as well as financing to startups and other small businesses. The company’s residential real estate lending products include fixed-rate and adjustable rate residential mortgage and home equity loans; retail credit products include personal, automobile, and boat/recreational vehicle loans; and municipal and institutional banking products and services for state and local governments, schools, charities, membership, and not-for-profit associations comprise deposit accounts, tax-exempt loans, lines of credit, and term loans, as well as a collateralized secured deposit products. It operates through a main office in Derby; and eleven branch offices in northeastern and central Vermont. Community Bancorp. was founded in 1851 and is headquartered in Derby, Vermont.

About OptimumBank

OptimumBank Holdings, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for OptimumBank that provides various consumer and commercial banking services to individuals and businesses. It accepts demand interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing, savings, money market, and NOW accounts, as well as time deposits, wire transfers, ACH services, and certificates of deposit. The company also offers residential and commercial real estate, multi-family real estate, land and construction loans; commercial loans are generally used for working capital purposes or for acquiring equipment, inventory, and furniture; and consumer loans for various purposes, including purchases of automobiles, recreational vehicles, boats, home improvements, lines of credit, personal, and deposit account collateralized loans. In addition, it provides Visa debit and ATM cards; cash management, notary, and night depository services; and direct deposits, money orders, cashier's checks, domestic collections, and banking by mail, as well as internet banking services. The company was founded in 2000 and is based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.