Analyzing American Business Bank (OTCMKTS:AMBZ) and BANCORP 34 (OTCMKTS:BCTF)

Insider & Institutional Ownership

9.9% of American Business Bank shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 6.5% of BANCORP 34 shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.4% of BANCORP 34 shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk & Volatility

American Business Bank has a beta of 0.47, meaning that its share price is 53% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BANCORP 34 has a beta of 0.34, meaning that its share price is 66% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares American Business Bank and BANCORP 34’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
American Business Bank	25.23%	N/A	N/A
BANCORP 34	11.27%	4.26%	0.40%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares American Business Bank and BANCORP 34″s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
American Business Bank	$183.26 million	2.67	$43.28 million	$5.18	10.58
BANCORP 34	$56.34 million	1.64	$1.69 million	$0.86	15.47

American Business Bank has higher revenue and earnings than BANCORP 34. American Business Bank is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than BANCORP 34, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

American Business Bank beats BANCORP 34 on 7 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About American Business Bank

American Business Bank, a California-chartered bank, provides banking products and services to small and medium-sized firms, non-profits, business executives, and professionals in Southern California. The company offers credit and depository; treasury management; asset-based lending; SBA lending; international banking comprising money transfers, import and export commercial letters of credit, standby letters of credit, documentary and clean collections, and foreign currency exchange services; and consulting and referral services. It operates regional loan production offices located in North Orange County, Orange County, South Bay, San Fernando Valley, Riverside County, Inland Empire, and Long Beach. American Business Bank was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.

About BANCORP 34

Bancorp 34, Inc. operates as the holding company for Bank 34 that offers various banking products and services to individuals and businesses in the United States. It accepts various deposit products, such as savings accounts, checking accounts, money market accounts, demand and time deposits, NOW accounts, and individual retirement accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company also provides term, working capital, construction, USDA, small business administration, equipment, assisted living and skilled nursing, renewable energy and solar equipment, and commercial real estate loans; and small to medium size business and business acquisitions financing; lines of credit; multi-family finance; and employee stock ownership plans, HOA lending, and investor pools of single family rentals. In addition, it offers credit and debit cards; safe deposit boxes; treasury management products; and merchant card processing, cash management, e-banking, mobile and online banking, bill payment, and merchant capture services. The company operates through its network of full-service branches in Scottsdale and Arizona, as well as Alamogordo and Las Cruces, New Mexico. Bancorp 34, Inc. was founded in 1934 and is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona.