Head-To-Head Comparison: United Security Bancshares (NASDAQ:UBFO) & Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE)

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) and United Security Bancshares (NASDAQ:UBFO) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings and valuation.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

84.0% of Hope Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 30.9% of United Security Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.2% of Hope Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 22.1% of United Security Bancshares shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Hope Bancorp and United Security Bancshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hope Bancorp	4.27%	4.45%	0.55%
United Security Bancshares	17.07%	8.43%	0.92%

Dividends

Hope Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.1%. United Security Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.1%. Hope Bancorp pays out 160.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. United Security Bancshares pays out 72.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. United Security Bancshares has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Hope Bancorp and United Security Bancshares, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hope Bancorp	1	1	1	0	2.00
United Security Bancshares	0	0	0	0	0.00

Hope Bancorp presently has a consensus price target of $13.25, suggesting a potential upside of 21.12%. Given Hope Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Hope Bancorp is more favorable than United Security Bancshares.

Risk & Volatility

Hope Bancorp has a beta of 0.97, indicating that its stock price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, United Security Bancshares has a beta of 0.42, indicating that its stock price is 58% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Hope Bancorp and United Security Bancshares”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hope Bancorp	$444.74 million	3.15	$99.63 million	$0.35	31.26
United Security Bancshares	$65.46 million	2.53	$14.78 million	$0.66	14.33

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

Summary

Hope Bancorp beats United Security Bancshares on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Hope Bancorp

Hope Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Bank of Hope that provides retail and commercial banking services for businesses and individuals in the United States. It accepts personal and business checking, money market, savings, time deposit, and individual retirement accounts. The company also offers loans comprising commercial and industrial loans to businesses for various purposes, such as working capital, purchasing inventory, debt refinancing, business acquisitions, international trade finance, other business-related financing, and loans syndication services; commercial real estate loans; residential mortgage loans; small business administration loans; and consumer loans, such as single-family mortgage, home equity, automobile, credit card, and personal loans. In addition, it provides internet banking and bill-pay, remote deposit capture, lock box, and ACH origination services; treasury management services; foreign currency exchange transactions; interest rate contracts and wealth management services; automated teller machine services; and engages in investment activities. Hope Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.

About United Security Bancshares

United Security Bancshares operates as the bank holding company for United Security Bank, a state-chartered bank that provides a range of commercial banking services to the business and professional community, and individuals in California. The company accepts various deposit products, including personal and business checking accounts, savings accounts, interest-bearing negotiable order of withdrawal accounts, money market accounts, and time certificates of deposit. It also provides real estate mortgage, commercial and industrial, real estate construction and development, and consumer loans, as well as agricultural, installment, and student loans. In addition, the company offers online and mobile banking, safe deposit boxes, wire transfers, payroll direct deposit, cashier's check, cash management, and foreign draft services, as well as interactive teller machines; and person-to-person and bank-to-bank transfers for consumer customers. United Security Bancshares was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Fresno, California.