Analyzing University Bancorp (OTCMKTS:UNIB) and First Foundation (NASDAQ:FFWM)

University Bancorp (OTCMKTS:UNIB) and First Foundation (NASDAQ:FFWM) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability and risk.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares University Bancorp and First Foundation”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
University Bancorp	$105.57 million	0.77	$5.43 million	N/A	N/A
First Foundation	$69.21 million	6.45	-$92.41 million	($1.27)	-4.27

University Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than First Foundation.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

73.1% of First Foundation shares are held by institutional investors. 63.7% of University Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 7.1% of First Foundation shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

University Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. First Foundation pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. First Foundation pays out -3.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for University Bancorp and First Foundation, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
University Bancorp	0	0	0	0	0.00
First Foundation	0	4	1	0	2.20

First Foundation has a consensus price target of $6.75, suggesting a potential upside of 24.54%. Given First Foundation’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe First Foundation is more favorable than University Bancorp.

Risk & Volatility

University Bancorp has a beta of 0.18, indicating that its share price is 82% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Foundation has a beta of 1.01, indicating that its share price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares University Bancorp and First Foundation’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
University Bancorp	N/A	N/A	N/A
First Foundation	-13.94%	-0.73%	-0.05%

About University Bancorp

University Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for University Bank that provides various personal, business, and community banking services in the United States. It offers checking, NOW, savings, money market, time deposit, and certificates of deposit accounts. The company's consumer loans include home equity, short term, automobile, personal, and recreational vehicle loans, as well as home equity lines of credits; SBA, commercial real estate, equipment, home improvement, and other instalment loans; and non-profit loans, as well as working capital lines of credit. In addition, the company provides foreign currency exchange; reverse mortgage; online banking and bill pay; online reorder checks; wire transfer; and courier services, as well as credit card and ATM services. Further, it offers life, health, property, and casualty insurance products, as well as investment products, including annuities. University Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1890 and is based in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

About First Foundation

First Foundation Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides banking services, investment advisory, wealth management, and trust services to individuals, businesses, and other organizations in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Banking and Wealth Management. It offers a range of deposit products, including personal and business checking accounts, savings accounts, interest-bearing demand deposit accounts, money market accounts, and time certificate of deposits; and loan products consisting of multifamily and single family residential real estate loans, commercial real estate loans, commercial term loans, and line of credits, as well as consumer loans, such as personal installment loans and line of credits, and home equity line of credits. The company also provides various specialized services comprising trust services, online and mobile banking, remote deposit capture services, merchant credit card services, ATM cards, Visa debit cards, and business sweep accounts, as well as insurance brokerage services and equipment financing solutions. In addition, it offers investment management and financial planning services; financial, investment, and economic advisory and related services; and treasury management services, such as bill pay, check/payee/ACH positive pay, wire origination, internal and external transfers, account reconciliation reporting, mobile deposit, lockbox, cash vault services and merchant processing. Further, the company provides support services, including the processing and transmission of financial and economic data for charitable organizations. It operates through a network of branch offices and loan production offices. The company was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.