Contrasting Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) and Patriot National Bancorp (NASDAQ:PNBK)

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) and Patriot National Bancorp (NASDAQ:PNBK) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings and risk.

Dividends

Banc of California pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Patriot National Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Banc of California pays out -12.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Patriot National Bancorp pays out -4.6% 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. Banc of California has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Banc of California is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Banc of California and Patriot National Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Banc of California	0	5	1	0	2.17
Patriot National Bancorp	0	0	0	0	N/A

Banc of California presently has a consensus price target of $16.64, suggesting a potential upside of 13.76%. Given Banc of California’s higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Banc of California is more favorable than Patriot National Bancorp.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

86.9% of Banc of California shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 39.3% of Patriot National Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.4% of Banc of California shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 13.4% of Patriot National Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Banc of California and Patriot National Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Banc of California	-29.10%	2.25%	0.19%
Patriot National Bancorp	-5.33%	-7.72%	-0.31%

Risk & Volatility

Banc of California has a beta of 1.17, meaning that its stock price is 17% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Patriot National Bancorp has a beta of 0.41, meaning that its stock price is 59% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Banc of California and Patriot National Bancorp’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Banc of California	$1.97 billion	1.17	-$1.90 billion	($3.33)	-4.39
Patriot National Bancorp	$34.25 million	0.40	-$4.18 million	($0.87)	-3.97

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

Summary

Banc of California beats Patriot National Bancorp on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Banc of California

Banc of California, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Banc of California that provides various banking products and services in California. The company offers deposit products, such as checking, savings, money market, demand, and time deposits; certificates of deposit; retirement accounts; and safe deposit boxes. It also provides real estate loans to professional developers and real estate investors for the acquisition, construction, refinancing, renovation, and on-going operation of commercial real estate properties; commercial real estate mortgage, residential real estate mortgage, and real estate construction and land loans; commercial loans and leases, such as equipment finance, other asset-based, venture capital, secured business, warehouse, and other lending services; small business administration loans; and consumer loans comprising personal, auto, and other loans, as well as home equity and revolving lines of credit. In addition, the company offers international banking, multi-state deposit, and asset and investment management services, as well as cash and treasury management services; and online, mobile, remote deposit, and telephone banking services. It serves small and middle-market businesses, venture capital firms, non-profit organizations, business owners, entrepreneurs, professionals, and high-net worth individuals. Banc of California, Inc. was founded in 1941 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.

About Patriot National Bancorp

Patriot National Bancorp, Inc. operates as the holding company for Patriot Bank, N.A. that provides community banking services to individuals, small and medium-sized businesses, and professionals. The company accepts consumer and commercial deposit accounts, such as checking, interest-bearing negotiable order of withdrawal, money market, time certificates of deposit, savings, prepaid deposit, on-line national money market, individual retirement accounts, and health savings accounts, as well as certificate of deposit account registry service. Its loan portfolio comprises commercial real estate, commercial business, small business administration, construction, purchased residential real estate, and various consumer loans. The company also offers automated clearing house transfers, lockbox, internet banking, bill payment, remote deposit capture, debit card, money order, traveler's check, and automatic teller machine services. Patriot National Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut.