Critical Review: BNCCORP (OTCMKTS:BNCC) vs. Amerant Bancorp (NASDAQ:AMTB)

Amerant Bancorp (NASDAQ:AMTB) and BNCCORP (OTCMKTS:BNCC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, profitability, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Amerant Bancorp and BNCCORP, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Amerant Bancorp	0	2	3	0	2.60
BNCCORP	0	0	0	0	N/A

Amerant Bancorp currently has a consensus price target of $25.10, indicating a potential upside of 21.49%. Given Amerant Bancorp’s higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Amerant Bancorp is more favorable than BNCCORP.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Amerant Bancorp and BNCCORP”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Amerant Bancorp	$334.26 million	2.08	$32.49 million	$0.68	30.38
BNCCORP	$53.28 million	1.77	$5.70 million	$1.67	15.97

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

42.1% of Amerant Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 13.5% of Amerant Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 28.4% of BNCCORP shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Amerant Bancorp and BNCCORP’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Amerant Bancorp	3.15%	7.78%	0.59%
BNCCORP	14.18%	7.02%	0.78%

Volatility and Risk

Amerant Bancorp has a beta of 0.99, indicating that its stock price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BNCCORP has a beta of 0.86, indicating that its stock price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Amerant Bancorp beats BNCCORP on 9 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Amerant Bancorp

Amerant Bancorp Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Amerant Bank, N.A. that provides banking products and services to individuals and businesses in the United States and internationally. It offers checking, savings, business, and money market accounts; cash management services; and certificates of deposits. The company also provides variable and fixed rate commercial real estate loans; owner-occupied; single-family residential; commercial; and consumer loans and overdrafts, such as automobile, personal, or loans secured by cash or securities and revolving credit card agreements. In addition, it offers trust and estate planning products and services to high-net-worth customers, brokerage and investment advisory services in global capital markets, and wealth management and fiduciary services. Further, the company provides debit and credit cards, night depositories, direct deposits, cashier's checks, safe deposit boxes, letters of credit, and treasury management services, including wire transfer, remote deposit capture, and automated clearinghouse services; derivative instruments; and online and mobile banking, account balances, statements and other documents, online transfers and bill payment, and electronic delivery of customer statements services, as well as automated teller machines, and banking by mobile devices, telephone, and mail. It operates banking centers in Florida and Texas. The company was formerly known as Mercantil Bank Holding Corporation and changed its name to Amerant Bancorp Inc. in June 2019. Amerant Bancorp Inc. was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Coral Gables, Florida.

About BNCCORP

BNCCORP, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for BNC National Bank that provides community banking, retail and mortgage banking, and wealth management services to businesses and consumers. The company offers commercial banking services, including business financing, commercial real estate lending, small business administration loans, business checking, cash management, corporate credit cards, and merchant services to small to middle-market businesses. It also provides retail and mortgage banking services, such as personal checking and savings products, personal loans, and card services; and residential loans through a consumer direct channel, as well as a retail channel. In addition, the company offers wealth management solutions, including 401(k) and other retirement plans, trust services, and personal wealth advisory services. It offers community banking and wealth management services through 11 locations in Arizona and North Dakota; and mortgage banking services through 7 locations in Arizona, North Dakota, Illinois, and Kansas. The company was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Bismarck, North Dakota.