Financial Review: ECB Bancorp (NASDAQ:ECBK) vs. CF Bankshares (NASDAQ:CFBK)

CF Bankshares (NASDAQ:CFBK) and ECB Bancorp (NASDAQ:ECBK) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, institutional ownership and profitability.

Volatility & Risk

CF Bankshares has a beta of 0.39, suggesting that its stock price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ECB Bancorp has a beta of 0.46, suggesting that its stock price is 54% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares CF Bankshares and ECB Bancorp”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
CF Bankshares	$125.92 million	1.69	$17.54 million	$2.78	11.91
ECB Bancorp	$79.51 million	2.21	$7.77 million	$1.15	17.43

CF Bankshares has higher revenue and earnings than ECB Bancorp. CF Bankshares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than ECB Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

41.1% of CF Bankshares shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 30.3% of ECB Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 17.7% of CF Bankshares shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 10.4% of ECB Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for CF Bankshares and ECB Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
CF Bankshares	0	1	2	0	2.67
ECB Bancorp	0	0	1	0	3.00

CF Bankshares presently has a consensus target price of $36.00, indicating a potential upside of 8.70%. Given CF Bankshares’ higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe CF Bankshares is more favorable than ECB Bancorp.

Profitability

This table compares CF Bankshares and ECB Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
CF Bankshares	14.37%	9.86%	0.85%
ECB Bancorp	11.49%	5.60%	0.61%

Summary

CF Bankshares beats ECB Bancorp on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About CF Bankshares

CF Bankshares Inc. operates as the bank holding company for CFBank, National Association that provides various banking products and services in the United States. The company accepts savings, retail and business checking accounts, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. It offers single-family mortgage loans; commercial real estate and multi-family residential mortgage loans; commercial loans and equipment leases; residential real estate loans and treasury management depository services; retail banking services and products. In addition, the company offers consumer loans, such as home equity lines of credit, home improvement loans, and loans secured by deposits and purchased loans, as well as other loans. Further, it provides online internet banking, mobile banking, and remote deposits. The company was formerly known as Central Federal Corporation and changed its name to CF Bankshares Inc. in July 2020. CF Bankshares Inc. was founded in 1892 and is based in Columbus, Ohio.

About ECB Bancorp

ECB Bancorp, Inc. operating as a holding company for Everett Co-operative Bank that provides various banking products and services. The company accepts various deposit products, including certificate of deposit accounts, IRAs, money market accounts, savings accounts, demand deposit accounts, and interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing checking accounts. It also offers one- to four-family residential real estate, commercial real estate and multifamily real estate, construction and land, commercial, and consumer loans, as well as home equity loans and lines of credit. In addition, the company invests in securities, consisting primarily of U.S. government and federal agency obligations, mortgage-backed securities, and corporate bonds. ECB Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1890 and is based in Everett, Massachusetts.