Princeton Bancorp (NASDAQ:BPRN) versus Oak Valley Bancorp (NASDAQ:OVLY) Head to Head Contrast

Oak Valley Bancorp (NASDAQ:OVLY) and Princeton Bancorp (NASDAQ:BPRN) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Oak Valley Bancorp and Princeton Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Oak Valley Bancorp	24.05%	11.03%	1.15%
Princeton Bancorp	15.01%	7.46%	0.90%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Oak Valley Bancorp and Princeton Bancorp”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Oak Valley Bancorp	$84.32 million	3.45	$23.91 million	$2.78	12.44
Princeton Bancorp	$139.02 million	2.18	$18.61 million	$3.00	14.82

Oak Valley Bancorp has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Princeton Bancorp. Oak Valley Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Princeton Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk and Volatility

Oak Valley Bancorp has a beta of 0.24, meaning that its share price is 76% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Princeton Bancorp has a beta of 0.48, meaning that its share price is 52% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Oak Valley Bancorp and Princeton Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Oak Valley Bancorp	0	0	1	0	3.00
Princeton Bancorp	0	2	1	0	2.33

Princeton Bancorp has a consensus target price of $37.50, suggesting a potential downside of 15.64%. Given Princeton Bancorp’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Princeton Bancorp is more favorable than Oak Valley Bancorp.

Dividends

Oak Valley Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.75 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Princeton Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. Oak Valley Bancorp pays out 27.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Princeton Bancorp pays out 53.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Oak Valley Bancorp has increased its dividend for 11 consecutive years.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

30.9% of Oak Valley Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 43.4% of Princeton Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 13.9% of Oak Valley Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 23.1% of Princeton Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

About Oak Valley Bancorp

Oak Valley Bancorp is a bank holding company headquartered in Oakdale, California. Its principal subsidiary, Oak Valley Community Bank, provides banking services to individuals, businesses and nonprofit organizations. The bank offers business and personal deposit accounts, commercial and real estate lending, agricultural financing, cash-management services and other customary community-banking products. Its lending supports needs such as business operations, property purchases and development. Oak Valley Community Bank serves communities in California’s Central Valley, Sacramento region and Eastern Sierra.

About Princeton Bancorp

Princeton Bancorp, Inc. is the bank holding company for The Princeton Bank, a community bank serving individuals, businesses and organizations in central New Jersey and nearby Pennsylvania communities. The bank traces its history to 1937. The Princeton Bank offers deposit accounts, residential mortgages, commercial real estate loans, business financing and other consumer lending. Its services also include online and mobile banking, cash management and other banking services for local businesses.