Critical Review: BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ) (NASDAQ:BCBP) & Ballston Spa Bancorp (OTCMKTS:BSPA)

BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ) (NASDAQ:BCBP) and Ballston Spa Bancorp (OTCMKTS:BSPA) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, risk, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ) and Ballston Spa Bancorp”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ)	$181.51 million	1.00	-$12.53 million	($0.07)	-149.14
Ballston Spa Bancorp	$47.24 million	1.18	$4.54 million	$0.33	227.27

Ballston Spa Bancorp has lower revenue, but higher earnings than BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ). BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ) is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ballston Spa Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ) and Ballston Spa Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ)	1	3	0	0	1.75
Ballston Spa Bancorp	0	0	0	0	0.00

BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ) currently has a consensus target price of $10.00, suggesting a potential downside of 4.21%. Given BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ)’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ) is more favorable than Ballston Spa Bancorp.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

36.0% of BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ) shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 2.4% of Ballston Spa Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 11.5% of BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ) shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ) and Ballston Spa Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ)	0.39%	0.24%	0.02%
Ballston Spa Bancorp	N/A	N/A	N/A

Dividends

BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ) pays an annual dividend of $0.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Ballston Spa Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ) pays out -457.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Ballston Spa Bancorp pays out 400.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ) is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Volatility & Risk

BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ) has a beta of 0.71, suggesting that its share price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ballston Spa Bancorp has a beta of -0.15, suggesting that its share price is 115% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ) beats Ballston Spa Bancorp on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NJ)

BCB Bancorp, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for BCB Community Bank that engages in the provision of banking products and services to businesses and individuals in the United States. The company offers insured deposit products, including savings and club accounts, interest and non-interest-bearing demand accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts. It also provides various loan products, such as commercial and multi-family real estate loans, one-to-four family mortgage loans, commercial business loans, construction loans, home equity loans, and consumer loans. In addition, the company offers retail and commercial banking services comprising wire transfer, money order, safe deposit box, night depository, debit card, online and mobile banking, fraud detection, and automated teller services. The company was founded in 2000 and is based in Bayonne, New Jersey.

About Ballston Spa Bancorp

Ballston Spa Bancorp, Inc. operates as a holding company for Ballston Spa National Bank that provides a range of banking, financing, fiduciary, brokerage, and other financial services to corporate, municipal, and individual customers in the United States. It offers checking, money market, savings, health savings, and individual retirement accounts, as well as certificates of deposit; loan products, such as mortgage and home construction, improvement, and equity loans, auto, boat, RV, personal, commercial, and small business loans, as well as lines of credit and government programs; and debits and credit cards. The company also provides personal investment services, which include annuities, college savings plans, mutual funds, and life and long term care insurance products; retirement plans; college planning services; investment and asset management; trusteeship; estate settlement; special needs and disability trusts; and wealth management services. In addition, the company offers treasury management services; and merchant and payment processing services, as well as online and mobile banking, and digital payments. The company was founded in 1838 and is based in Ballston Spa, New York.