Comparing USCB Financial (NASDAQ:USCB) and M&F Bancorp (OTCMKTS:MFBP)

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

Profitability

This table compares M&F Bancorp and USCB Financial’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
USCB Financial	17.04%	15.37%	1.22%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

61.3% of USCB Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.9% of M&F Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 49.5% of USCB Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for M&F Bancorp and USCB Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
M&F Bancorp	0	0	0	0	0.00
USCB Financial	0	2	2	1	2.80

USCB Financial has a consensus target price of $22.00, suggesting a potential upside of 8.16%. Given USCB Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe USCB Financial 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 0.8%. USCB Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.50 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. M&F Bancorp pays out 18.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. USCB Financial pays out 35.0% 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. USCB Financial has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years. USCB Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares M&F Bancorp and USCB Financial”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
M&F Bancorp	$29.72 million	1.95	$4.30 million	$1.30	23.06
USCB Financial	$159.60 million	2.33	$26.10 million	$1.43	14.22

USCB Financial has higher revenue and earnings than M&F Bancorp. USCB Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than M&F Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

M&F Bancorp has a beta of -0.54, indicating that its share price is 154% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, USCB Financial has a beta of 0.51, indicating that its share price is 49% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

USCB Financial beats M&F Bancorp on 16 of the 18 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 USCB Financial

USCB Financial Holdings, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for U.S. Century Bank that engages in the provision of various personal and business banking products and services in the United States. It accepts various deposit products, including commercial and consumer checking, money market deposit, savings, and time deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. It also offers loan products, such as small business administration loans, yacht financing, residential and commercial real estate loans; commercial and industrial loans; foreign bank loans; and secured and unsecured consumer loans comprising personal loans, overdrafts, and deposit account collateralized loans. The company also offers lockbox, treasury, commercial payments, cash management, and online banking services, as well as provides title insurance policies for real estate transactions. USCB Financial Holdings, Inc. was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Miami, Florida.