Comparing Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) and California First Leasing (OTCMKTS:CFNBD)

California First Leasing (OTCMKTS:CFNBD) and Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, profitability, risk and dividends.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

6.5% of California First Leasing shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 72.8% of Preferred Bank shares are held by institutional investors. 92.2% of California First Leasing shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

California First Leasing has a beta of 0.29, indicating that its share price is 71% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Preferred Bank has a beta of 0.55, indicating that its share price is 45% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for California First Leasing and Preferred Bank, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
California First Leasing	0	0	0	0	0.00
Preferred Bank	0	5	2	0	2.29

Preferred Bank has a consensus price target of $106.25, suggesting a potential upside of 3.20%. Given Preferred Bank’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Preferred Bank is more favorable than California First Leasing.

Profitability

This table compares California First Leasing and Preferred Bank’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
California First Leasing	N/A	N/A	N/A
Preferred Bank	26.54%	17.27%	1.77%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares California First Leasing and Preferred Bank”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
California First Leasing	$30.12 million	10.14	$20.27 million	N/A	N/A
Preferred Bank	$505.97 million	2.94	$133.63 million	$10.94	9.41

Preferred Bank has higher revenue and earnings than California First Leasing.

Summary

Preferred Bank beats California First Leasing on 10 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About California First Leasing

California First Leasing Corporation provides loans and lease financing for universities, businesses, and other commercial or non-profit organizations. The company was formerly known as California First National Bancorp and changed its name to California First Leasing Corporation in February 2021. California First Leasing Corporation was founded in 1977 and is based in Newport Beach, California.

About Preferred Bank

Preferred Bank provides various commercial banking products and services to small and mid-sized businesses and their owners, entrepreneurs, real estate developers and investors, professionals, and high net worth individuals. The company accepts checking, savings, and money market deposit accounts; fixed-rate and fixed maturity retail, and non-retail certificates of deposit; and individual retirement accounts. It also provides real estate mortgage loans that are secured by retail, industrial, office, special purpose, and residential single and multi-family properties; real estate construction loans; commercial loans comprising lines of credit for working capital, term loans for capital expenditures, and commercial and stand-by letters of credit; and small business administration loans. In addition, the company offers trade finance services, including commercial and export letters of credit, import lines of credit, documentary collections, international wire transfers, acceptances/trust receipt financing products, export financing, and bills purchase programs. Further, it provides cash management services; and internet, mobile, and tablet banking services. The company operates through full-service branch offices in the California counties of Los Angeles, Orange and San Francisco; Flushing, New York; Houston suburb of Sugar Land, Texas; and a satellite office in Manhattan, New York. The company was incorporated in 1991 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.