Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST – Get Free Report) and BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ) (NASDAQ:BCBP – Get Free Report) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and valuation.
Profitability
This table compares Business First Bancshares and BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ)’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Business First Bancshares | 17.07% | 11.03% | 1.13% |
| BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ) | -10.21% | -6.29% | -0.54% |
Insider & Institutional Ownership
47.4% of Business First Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 36.0% of BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ) shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.7% of Business First Bancshares shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 11.5% of BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ) 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.
Valuation & Earnings
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Business First Bancshares | $516.55 million | 1.95 | $87.86 million | $2.82 | 10.95 |
| BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ) | $181.51 million | 0.84 | -$12.53 million | ($1.10) | -7.69 |
Business First Bancshares has higher revenue and earnings than BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ). BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ) is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Business First Bancshares, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Business First Bancshares and BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ), as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Business First Bancshares | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3.00 |
| BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ) | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1.80 |
Business First Bancshares presently has a consensus target price of $34.75, indicating a potential upside of 12.57%. BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ) has a consensus target price of $8.95, indicating a potential upside of 5.79%. Given Business First Bancshares’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Business First Bancshares is more favorable than BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ).
Risk & Volatility
Business First Bancshares has a beta of 0.78, meaning that its share price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ) has a beta of 0.71, meaning that its share price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Business First Bancshares beats BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ) on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
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.
About BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ)
BCB Bancorp, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for BCB Community Bank that engages in the provision of banking products and services to businesses and individuals in the United States. The company offers insured deposit products, including savings and club accounts, interest and non-interest-bearing demand accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts. It also provides various loan products, such as commercial and multi-family real estate loans, one-to-four family mortgage loans, commercial business loans, construction loans, home equity loans, and consumer loans. In addition, the company offers retail and commercial banking services comprising wire transfer, money order, safe deposit box, night depository, debit card, online and mobile banking, fraud detection, and automated teller services. The company was founded in 2000 and is based in Bayonne, New Jersey.
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