Reviewing ECB Bancorp (NASDAQ:ECBK) and Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST)

ECB Bancorp (NASDAQ:ECBK) and Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends and risk.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares ECB Bancorp and Business First Bancshares”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ECB Bancorp	$79.51 million	2.30	$7.77 million	$1.37	15.27
Business First Bancshares	$516.55 million	1.94	$87.86 million	$2.82	10.93

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

30.3% of ECB Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 47.4% of Business First Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. 10.4% of ECB Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.7% of Business First Bancshares shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for ECB Bancorp and Business First Bancshares, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ECB Bancorp	0	0	0	1	4.00
Business First Bancshares	0	0	5	0	3.00

Business First Bancshares has a consensus target price of $34.75, suggesting a potential upside of 12.75%. Given Business First Bancshares’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Business First Bancshares is more favorable than ECB Bancorp.

Risk and Volatility

ECB Bancorp has a beta of 0.45, meaning that its stock price is 55% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Business First Bancshares has a beta of 0.77, meaning that its stock price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares ECB Bancorp and Business First Bancshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ECB Bancorp	13.19%	6.55%	0.70%
Business First Bancshares	17.07%	11.03%	1.13%

Summary

Business First Bancshares beats ECB Bancorp on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Business First Bancshares

Business First Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for b1BANK that provides various banking products and services in Louisiana and Texas. It offers various deposit products and services, including checking, demand, money market, time, and savings accounts; and certificates of deposits, remote deposit capture, and direct deposit services. The company also provides commercial and industrial loans, such as working capital, term, equipment financing, asset acquisition, expansion and development, borrowing base, and other loan products, as well as commercial lines of credit, accounts receivable factoring, agricultural financing, and letters of credit; construction and development loans; commercial real estate loans; residential real estate loans comprising first and second lien 1-4 family mortgage loans, and home equity lines of credit; and consumer loans, including secured and unsecured installment, and term loans. In addition, it offers wealth management products, including mutual funds, annuities, individual retirement accounts, and other financial products, as well as other fiduciary and private banking products and services. Further, the company provides a range of other financial services comprising debit and credit cards, treasury and cash management, merchant, automated clearing house, lock-box, receivables factoring, correspondent banking, and other treasury services, as well as employee and payroll benefits solutions; and drive-through banking facilities, automated teller machines, night depository, personalized checks, electronic funds transfer, domestic and foreign wire transfer, traveler's checks, vault, loan and deposit sweep accounts, online and mobile banking, e-statements, and bank-by-mail services. Business First Bancshares, Inc. was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.