Critical Contrast: USCB Financial (NASDAQ:USCB) vs. ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS)

USCB Financial (NASDAQ:USCB) and ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, valuation, profitability, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares USCB Financial and ServisFirst Bancshares”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
USCB Financial	$159.60 million	2.59	$26.10 million	$1.52	14.70
ServisFirst Bancshares	$1.02 billion	4.22	$276.60 million	$2.93	13.42

ServisFirst Bancshares has higher revenue and earnings than USCB Financial. ServisFirst Bancshares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than USCB Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

61.3% of USCB Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 67.3% of ServisFirst Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. 27.4% of USCB Financial shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 6.5% of ServisFirst Bancshares shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

USCB Financial has a beta of 0.45, indicating that its stock price is 55% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ServisFirst Bancshares has a beta of 0.91, indicating that its stock price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

USCB Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.50 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. ServisFirst Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. USCB Financial pays out 32.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. ServisFirst Bancshares pays out 25.9% 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. USCB Financial has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years and ServisFirst Bancshares has raised its dividend for 10 consecutive years.

Profitability

This table compares USCB Financial and ServisFirst Bancshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
USCB Financial	17.24%	15.77%	1.22%
ServisFirst Bancshares	30.95%	17.42%	1.82%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for USCB Financial and ServisFirst Bancshares, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
USCB Financial	0	2	3	1	2.83
ServisFirst Bancshares	0	1	4	0	2.80

USCB Financial presently has a consensus target price of $24.33, indicating a potential upside of 8.87%. ServisFirst Bancshares has a consensus target price of $46.50, indicating a potential upside of 18.30%. Given ServisFirst Bancshares’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe ServisFirst Bancshares is more favorable than USCB Financial.

Summary

ServisFirst Bancshares beats USCB Financial on 13 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About USCB Financial

USCB Financial Holdings, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for U.S. Century Bank that engages in the provision of various personal and business banking products and services in the United States. It accepts various deposit products, including commercial and consumer checking, money market deposit, savings, and time deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. It also offers loan products, such as small business administration loans, yacht financing, residential and commercial real estate loans; commercial and industrial loans; foreign bank loans; and secured and unsecured consumer loans comprising personal loans, overdrafts, and deposit account collateralized loans. The company also offers lockbox, treasury, commercial payments, cash management, and online banking services, as well as provides title insurance policies for real estate transactions. USCB Financial Holdings, Inc. was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Miami, Florida.

About ServisFirst Bancshares

ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for ServisFirst Bank that provides various banking services to individual and corporate customers. It accepts demand, time, savings, and other deposits; checking, money market, and IRA accounts; and certificates of deposit. The company's loan products include commercial lending products, including seasonal, bridge, and term loans for working capital, expansion of the business, acquisition of property, and plant and equipment, as well as commercial lines of credit; commercial real estate loans, construction and development loans, and residential real estate loans; and consumer loans, such as home equity loans, vehicle financing, loans secured by deposits, and secured and unsecured personal loans. It also offers other banking products and services comprising telephone and mobile banking, Internet banking, direct deposit, traveler's checks, safe deposit boxes, attorney trust accounts, automatic account transfers, automated teller machines, and debit and credit card systems; treasury and cash management services; wire transfer, night depository, banking-by-mail, and remote capture services; and correspondent banking services to other financial institutions. In addition, the company holds and manages participations in residential mortgages and commercial real estate loans originated by ServisFirst Bank in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee. The company was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama.