Reviewing Columbia Financial (NASDAQ:CLBK) and Security Bancorp (OTCMKTS:SCYT)

Security Bancorp (OTCMKTS:SCYT) and Columbia Financial (NASDAQ:CLBK) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends, earnings, institutional ownership and profitability.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Security Bancorp and Columbia Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Security Bancorp	0	0	0	0	N/A
Columbia Financial	0	1	1	0	2.50

Columbia Financial has a consensus price target of $18.50, indicating a potential upside of 14.27%. Given Columbia Financial’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Columbia Financial is more favorable than Security Bancorp.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

12.7% of Columbia Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.5% of Columbia Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Security Bancorp and Columbia Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Security Bancorp	N/A	N/A	N/A
Columbia Financial	8.54%	4.94%	0.49%

Risk and Volatility

Security Bancorp has a beta of 0.1, indicating that its stock price is 90% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Columbia Financial has a beta of 0.21, indicating that its stock price is 79% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Security Bancorp and Columbia Financial’s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Security Bancorp	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Columbia Financial	$422.36 million	4.02	$36.09 million	$0.35	46.26

Columbia Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Security Bancorp.

Summary

Columbia Financial beats Security Bancorp on 9 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Security Bancorp

Security Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Security Federal Savings Bank that provides banking products and services to individual and corporate customers in Tennessee. The company's deposit products include checking and savings accounts, and certificates of deposit. It also offers consumer loans; mortgage loans; commercial loans, including installment loans and lines of credit; residential real estate loans; and acquisition and development loans. In addition, the company provides financial services that include individual retirement accounts; mutual funds, stocks, and bonds; rollovers; transfers; fixed, variable, indexed, and immediate annuities; life insurance; college planning; and bill payment products and services, as well as online, mobile, and telephone banking services. Security Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1960 and is headquartered in McMinnville, Tennessee.

About Columbia Financial

Columbia Financial, Inc., a bank holding company, provides various financial services to businesses and consumers in the United States. Its deposit products include checking, interest-earning checking products and municipal, savings and club deposits, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company also provides various loans, including multifamily and commercial real estate loans, commercial business loans, one-to-four family residential loans, construction loans, home equity loans and advances, and other consumer loans, such as automobiles and personal loans, as well as unsecured and overdraft lines of credit. In addition, it offers title insurance products; wealth management services; and cash management services comprising remote deposit, lockbox service, sweep accounts, and escrow services. The company operates full-service banking offices in New Jersey; and branch offices in Freehold, New Jersey. Columbia Financial, Inc. was founded in 1926 and is based in Fair Lawn, New Jersey. Columbia Financial, Inc. is a subsidiary of Columbia Bank MHC.