Reviewing West Coast Community Bancorp (OTCMKTS:SCZC) and South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI)

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) and West Coast Community Bancorp (OTCMKTS:SCZC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Volatility and Risk

South Plains Financial has a beta of 0.46, indicating that its stock price is 54% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, West Coast Community Bancorp has a beta of 0.55, indicating that its stock price is 45% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

55.0% of South Plains Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 9.7% of West Coast Community Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 25.4% of South Plains Financial 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.

Dividends

South Plains Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. West Coast Community Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. South Plains Financial pays out 20.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. West Coast Community Bancorp pays out 22.4% 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.

Profitability

This table compares South Plains Financial and West Coast Community Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
South Plains Financial	17.20%	11.75%	1.17%
West Coast Community Bancorp	23.91%	N/A	N/A

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for South Plains Financial and West Coast Community Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
South Plains Financial	0	0	3	0	3.00
West Coast Community Bancorp	0	0	0	0	0.00

South Plains Financial currently has a consensus target price of $42.67, suggesting a potential upside of 36.71%. Given South Plains Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe South Plains Financial is more favorable than West Coast Community Bancorp.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares South Plains Financial and West Coast Community Bancorp”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
South Plains Financial	$189.30 million	2.72	$49.72 million	$2.92	10.69
West Coast Community Bancorp	$123.69 million	3.29	$29.58 million	$3.39	11.35

South Plains Financial has higher revenue and earnings than West Coast Community Bancorp. South Plains Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than West Coast Community Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

South Plains Financial beats West Coast Community Bancorp on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About South Plains Financial

South Plains Financial, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for City Bank that provides commercial and consumer financial services to small and medium-sized businesses and individuals. The company operates through two segments, Banking and Insurance. It offers deposit products, including demand deposit accounts, interest-bearing products, savings accounts, and certificate of deposits. The company also provides commercial real estate loans; general and specialized commercial loans, including agricultural production and real estate, energy, finance, investment, and insurance loans, as well as loans to goods, services, restaurant and retail, construction, and other industries; residential construction loans; and 1-4 family residential loans, auto loans, and other loans for recreational vehicles or other purposes. In addition, it offers crop insurance products; trust products and services; investment services; mortgage banking services; online and mobile banking services; and debit and credit cards. The company was founded in 1941 and is headquartered in Lubbock, Texas.

About West Coast Community Bancorp

West Coast Community Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for Santa Cruz County Bank that provides a range of commercial and personal banking services to residents and businesses in the United States. It offers checking, savings, money market, certificate of deposits, and health savings accounts; and individual retirement account and retirement plans. The company also provides lending products, including real estate commercial property, construction, asset-based, lines of credit, SBA loans, 504 loan program, business and industry, farm services agency, agricultural, and wine industry lending. In addition, it provides debit and credit cards, merchant services, online and mobile banking, remote deposit services, wire and ACH manager, treasury management, payment, and cash management services. West Coast Community Bancorp was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Santa Cruz, California.