Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) vs. ECB Bancorp (NASDAQ:ECBK) Financial Review

ECB Bancorp (NASDAQ:ECBK) and Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability and dividends.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for ECB Bancorp and Western Alliance Bancorporation, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ECB Bancorp	0	0	0	1	4.00
Western Alliance Bancorporation	0	4	11	0	2.73

Western Alliance Bancorporation has a consensus target price of $95.47, suggesting a potential upside of 17.65%. Given Western Alliance Bancorporation’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Western Alliance Bancorporation is more favorable than ECB Bancorp.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares ECB Bancorp and Western Alliance Bancorporation”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ECB Bancorp	$79.51 million	2.28	$7.77 million	$1.37	15.15
Western Alliance Bancorporation	$5.37 billion	1.65	$969.00 million	$8.88	9.14

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

30.3% of ECB Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.2% of Western Alliance Bancorporation shares are held by institutional investors. 10.4% of ECB Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.8% of Western Alliance Bancorporation shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares ECB Bancorp and Western Alliance Bancorporation’s 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%
Western Alliance Bancorporation	17.20%	13.40%	1.07%

Volatility & Risk

ECB Bancorp has a beta of 0.45, meaning that its stock price is 55% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Western Alliance Bancorporation has a beta of 1.33, meaning that its stock price is 33% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Western Alliance Bancorporation 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 Western Alliance Bancorporation

Western Alliance Bancorporation operates as the bank holding company for Western Alliance Bank that provides various banking products and related services primarily in Arizona, California, and Nevada. It operates through Commercial and Consumer Related segments. The company offers deposit products, including checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as fixed-rate and fixed maturity certificates of deposit accounts; demand deposits; and treasury management and residential mortgage products and services. It also provides commercial and industrial loan products, such as working capital lines of credit, loans to technology companies, inventory and accounts receivable lines, mortgage warehouse lines, equipment loans and leases, and other commercial loans; commercial real estate loans, which are secured by multi-family residential properties, professional offices, industrial facilities, retail centers, hotels, and other commercial properties; construction and land development loans for single family and multi-family residential projects, industrial/warehouse properties, office buildings, retail centers, medical office facilities, and residential lot developments; and consumer loans. In addition, the company provides other financial services, such as internet banking, wire transfers, electronic bill payment and presentment, funds transfer and other digital payment offerings, lock box services, courier, and cash management services. Further, the company holds certain investment securities, municipal and non-profit loans, and leases; invests primarily in low-income housing tax credits and small business investment corporations; and holds certain real estate loans and related securities. Western Alliance Bancorporation was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.