Reviewing Private Bancorp of America (OTCMKTS:PBAM) and OP Bancorp (NASDAQ:OPBK)

Private Bancorp of America (OTCMKTS:PBAM) and OP Bancorp (NASDAQ:OPBK) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, profitability and dividends.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Private Bancorp of America and OP Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Private Bancorp of America	0	0	3	1	3.25
OP Bancorp	0	2	2	0	2.50

Private Bancorp of America presently has a consensus target price of $86.33, suggesting a potential upside of 16.06%. OP Bancorp has a consensus target price of $16.50, suggesting a potential upside of 17.27%. Given OP Bancorp’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe OP Bancorp is more favorable than Private Bancorp of America.

Volatility & Risk

Private Bancorp of America has a beta of 0.08, suggesting that its stock price is 92% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, OP Bancorp has a beta of 0.62, suggesting that its stock price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Private Bancorp of America and OP Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Private Bancorp of America	24.01%	16.38%	1.66%
OP Bancorp	16.12%	12.36%	1.05%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Private Bancorp of America and OP Bancorp”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Private Bancorp of America	$172.31 million	2.47	$40.67 million	$7.20	10.33
OP Bancorp	$166.66 million	1.26	$25.64 million	$1.82	7.73

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

13.5% of Private Bancorp of America shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 53.6% of OP Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 20.4% of OP Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Private Bancorp of America beats OP Bancorp on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Private Bancorp of America

Private Bancorp of America, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for CalPrivate Bank that provides banking products and services to individuals and businesses in California. The company offers checking and savings, money market, certificate of deposit, sweep, zero balance, and individual retirement accounts; unsecured lines of credit, personal credit lines, and term loans; additional services, such as direct deposits, online banking, ATM and debit cards, credit cards, savings/line of credit overdraft protection, and safe deposit boxes; and certificate of deposit account registry services. It also provides treasury management, merchant card, bill pay, positive pay, e-statement, remote deposit capture, ACH origination, wire transfer, electronic payments and collections, electronic check acceptance, account reconciliation, cash vault, and gift and business credit cards, as well as funds management services. In addition, the company offers term credit facilities and loans, equipment and business expansion loans, working capital lines of credit, commercial real estate financing, construction financing, letters of credit, business start-up loans, loans for business acquisition and partner buyouts, owner-occupied commercial real estate loans, equipment, furniture and fixture, and other loans; and CDARS And ICS products. Further, it provides wealth management and legal services. The company has offices in La Jolla, San Diego, Coronado, Newport Beach, Beverly Hills, El Segundo, Temecula, Mission Valley, and Redlands. Private Bancorp of America, Inc. was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in La Jolla, California.

About OP Bancorp

OP Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for Open Bank that provides banking products and services in California. It offers demand, checking, savings, money market, and time deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company also provides commercial real estate, small business administration, commercial and industrial business, single-family residential, term, consumer, and home mortgage loans; trade financing products; and letters of credit, and SWIFT and export advice. In addition, it offers debit and credit card, online transfer and bill payment, electronic delivery of customer statements, and mobile banking solutions for iPhone and Android phones, including remote check deposit with mobile bill pay; direct deposits, cashier's checks, person to person payments, wire transfers, and automated clearing house (ACH) services; and cash management services, including balance reporting, transfers between accounts, wire transfer initiation, ACH origination, and stop payment services, as well as remote deposit capture, positive pay, zero balance accounts, and sweep accounts. The company operates full branch offices in Downtown Los Angeles, Los Angeles Fashion District, Los Angeles Koreatown, Gardena, Buena Park, and Santa Clara in California; and Carrollton, Texas; and operates loan production offices in Pleasanton, California; Atlanta, Georgia; Aurora, Colorado; and Lynnwood in Washington. The company was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.