Ohio Valley Banc (NASDAQ:OVBC) & Solera National Bancorp (OTCMKTS:SLRK) Critical Review

Ohio Valley Banc (NASDAQ:OVBC) and Solera National Bancorp (OTCMKTS:SLRK) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, earnings, dividends, risk, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Ohio Valley Banc and Solera National Bancorp”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ohio Valley Banc	$67.50 million	2.51	$11.00 million	$3.00	11.98
Solera National Bancorp	$75.25 million	0.83	$18.07 million	$5.22	2.79

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Ohio Valley Banc and Solera National Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ohio Valley Banc	0	0	1	0	3.00
Solera National Bancorp	0	0	0	0	0.00

Volatility & Risk

Ohio Valley Banc has a beta of 0.06, indicating that its share price is 94% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Solera National Bancorp has a beta of 0.43, indicating that its share price is 57% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Ohio Valley Banc and Solera National Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ohio Valley Banc	14.97%	9.10%	0.94%
Solera National Bancorp	28.36%	N/A	N/A

Insider & Institutional Ownership

22.1% of Ohio Valley Banc shares are held by institutional investors. 7.1% of Ohio Valley Banc shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 17.4% of Solera National Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Ohio Valley Banc beats Solera National Bancorp on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ohio Valley Banc

Ohio Valley Banc Corp. operates as the bank holding company for The Ohio Valley Bank Company that provides commercial and consumer banking products and services. The company operates in two segments, Banking and Consumer Finance. It accepts various deposit products, including checking, savings, time, and money market accounts, as well as individual retirement accounts, demand deposits, NOW accounts, and certificates of deposit. The company also provides various residential real estate loans, including one-to four-family residential mortgages; commercial loans for securing equipment, inventory, stock, commercial real estate, and rental property; and consumer loans secured by automobiles, mobile homes, recreational vehicles, and other personal property, as well as personal loans, unsecured credit card receivables, floor plan and student loans, and construction loans. In addition, it offers safe deposit box, wire transfer, credit card, home equity loans, and Internet banking services; and financial management online services, such as cash management and news updates related to repossession auctions, current rates, and general bank news. Further, the company provides automatic teller machines (ATMs), consumer finance, seasonal tax preparation, commercial property, and various liability insurance services, as well as trust and online-only consumer direct mortgage services. The company owns and operates ATMs, including off-site ATMs. It operates offices in Ohio and West Virginia. The company was founded in 1872 and is based in Gallipolis, Ohio.

About Solera National Bancorp

Solera National Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Solera National Bank that provides commercial and consumer banking services in the United States. The company offers checking and savings accounts, money market accounts, time and demand deposits, and individual retirement accounts (IRA), as well as certificates of deposit; and real estate secured loans, construction loans, small business administration loans, business lines of credit, and equipment financing. It also provides online banking, account analysis, combined account analysis, commercial sweep, remote deposit, ACH origination, payroll direct deposit, merchant, business debit card, and cash management services. The company was incorporated in 2006 and is based in Lakewood, Colorado.