Contrasting BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) & Bay National (OTCMKTS:BAYN)

BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) and Bay National (OTCMKTS:BAYN) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, dividends, risk, valuation, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for BancFirst and Bay National, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
BancFirst	1	1	0	0	1.50
Bay National	0	0	0	0	N/A

BancFirst presently has a consensus price target of $85.50, indicating a potential downside of 6.63%. Given BancFirst’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe BancFirst is more favorable than Bay National.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares BancFirst and Bay National’s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
BancFirst	$809.34 million	3.73	$212.46 million	$6.12	14.96
Bay National	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

BancFirst has higher revenue and earnings than Bay National.

Risk and Volatility

BancFirst has a beta of 1.09, suggesting that its stock price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bay National has a beta of 1.56, suggesting that its stock price is 56% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

51.7% of BancFirst shares are owned by institutional investors. 33.9% of BancFirst shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 17.8% of Bay National shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares BancFirst and Bay National’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
BancFirst	26.25%	14.85%	1.69%
Bay National	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

BancFirst beats Bay National on 7 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About BancFirst

BancFirst Corporation operates as the bank holding company for BancFirst that provides a range of commercial banking services to retail customers, and small to medium-sized businesses. The company operates through BancFirst Metropolitan Banks, BancFirst Community Banks, Pegasus, Worthington, and Other Financial Services segments. It offers checking accounts, negotiable order of withdrawal accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, sweep accounts, club accounts, individual retirement accounts, and certificates of deposit, as well as overdraft protection and auto draft services. The company also provides commercial and agricultural non-real estate loans for working capital, facilities acquisition or expansion, purchase of equipment, and other needs; lending services that include private banking, energy, commercial and residential real estate, and commercial and industrial loans; and loans to finance purchases of consumer goods, such as automobiles, boats, household goods, vacations, and education. In addition, it engages in the investment management and administration of trusts for individuals, corporations, and employee benefit plans, as well as bond trustee and paying agent business for various Oklahoma municipalities and governmental entities; and provision of item processing, research, and other correspondent banking services to financial institutions and governmental units. Further, the company provides insurance agency services; depository and funds transfer, collection, safe deposit box, cash management, and other services. It serves customers in non-metropolitan trade centers and cities in the metropolitan statistical areas of Oklahoma. The company was formerly known as United Community Corporation and changed its name to BancFirst Corporation in November 1988. BancFirst Corporation was incorporated in 1984 and is headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

About Bay National

Bay National Corp. operates as a bank holding company. It offers loans, deposits, investments and other banking and financial services through its subsidiary, Bay National Bank. The company was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Lutherville, MD.