M&F Bancorp (OTCMKTS:MFBP) and Republic Bancorp (NASDAQ:RBCAA) Head-To-Head Contrast

M&F Bancorp (OTCMKTS:MFBP) and Republic Bancorp (NASDAQ:RBCAA) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, risk and institutional ownership.

Volatility and Risk

M&F Bancorp has a beta of -0.46, indicating that its share price is 146% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Republic Bancorp has a beta of 0.52, indicating that its share price is 48% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for M&F Bancorp and Republic Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
M&F Bancorp	0	0	0	0	0.00
Republic Bancorp	0	2	0	0	2.00

Republic Bancorp has a consensus target price of $69.00, indicating a potential downside of 11.02%. Given Republic Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Republic Bancorp is more favorable than M&F Bancorp.

Dividends

M&F Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Republic Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. Republic Bancorp pays out 29.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Republic Bancorp has increased its dividend for 27 consecutive years. Republic Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares M&F Bancorp and Republic Bancorp”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
M&F Bancorp	$29.33 million	1.30	$4.77 million	N/A	N/A
Republic Bancorp	$505.64 million	2.99	$101.37 million	$6.07	12.78

Republic Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than M&F Bancorp.

Profitability

This table compares M&F Bancorp and Republic Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
M&F Bancorp	N/A	N/A	N/A
Republic Bancorp	22.94%	11.92%	1.73%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

24.4% of Republic Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 2.9% of M&F Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 56.4% of Republic Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Republic Bancorp beats M&F Bancorp on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About M&F Bancorp

M&F Bancorp, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for the Mechanics and Farmers Bank that provides consumer and commercial banking products and services in North Carolina. It offers deposit products, including demand deposits; checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company provides loans for commercial and residential real estate, and construction; and consumer and other loans; as well as ATM services. M&F Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1907 and is headquartered in Durham, North Carolina.

About Republic Bancorp

Republic Bancorp, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for Republic Bank & Trust Company that provides various banking products and services in the United States. It operates in six segments: Traditional Banking, Warehouse, Mortgage Banking, Tax Refund Solutions, Republic Payment Solutions, and Republic Credit Solutions. The company offers demand, money market accounts, savings, individual retirement accounts, time, brokered, and other certificates of deposit; and retail and commercial mortgage, construction and land development, consumer, aircraft, and marine loans. It also provides credit cards; title insurance and other financial products and services; and private banking, lockbox processing, remote deposit capture, business online banking, account reconciliation, automated clearing house processing, and internet and mobile banking services. In addition, it offers short-term and revolving credit facilities to mortgage bankers through mortgage warehouse lines of credit; mortgage banking; tax refund solutions, which facilitate the receipt and payment of federal and state tax refund products through third-party tax preparers and tax-preparation software providers; payments-related products and services to consumers through third party service providers; and consumer credit products. The company offers its services through full-services banking centers in Kentucky, Indiana, Florida, Ohio, and Tennessee. Republic Bancorp, Inc. was incorporated in 1974 and is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky.