Financial Survey: ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) versus West Coast Community Bancorp (OTCMKTS:SCZC)

West Coast Community Bancorp (OTCMKTS:SCZC – Get Free Report) and ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS – Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings and valuation.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

9.7% of West Coast Community Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 67.3% of ServisFirst Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.4% of ServisFirst Bancshares shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for West Coast Community Bancorp and ServisFirst Bancshares, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

ServisFirst Bancshares has a consensus price target of $73.00, indicating a potential downside of 6.78%. Given ServisFirst Bancshares’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe ServisFirst Bancshares is more favorable than West Coast Community Bancorp.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares West Coast Community Bancorp and ServisFirst Bancshares”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

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

Risk & Volatility

West Coast Community Bancorp has a beta of 0.77, suggesting that its share price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ServisFirst Bancshares has a beta of 0.86, suggesting that its share price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares West Coast Community Bancorp and ServisFirst Bancshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Dividends

West Coast Community Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. ServisFirst Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. West Coast Community Bancorp pays out 16.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. ServisFirst Bancshares pays out 32.9% 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. West Coast Community Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

ServisFirst Bancshares beats West Coast Community Bancorp on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About West Coast Community Bancorp

(Get Free Report)

West Coast Community Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for Santa Cruz County Bank that provides a range of commercial and personal banking services to residents and businesses in the United States. It offers checking, savings, money market, certificate of deposits, and health savings accounts; and individual retirement account and retirement plans. The company also provides lending products, including real estate commercial property, construction, asset-based, lines of credit, SBA loans, 504 loan program, business and industry, farm services agency, agricultural, and wine industry lending. In addition, it provides debit and credit cards, merchant services, online and mobile banking, remote deposit services, wire and ACH manager, treasury management, payment, and cash management services. West Coast Community Bancorp was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Santa Cruz, California.

About ServisFirst Bancshares

(Get Free Report)

ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for ServisFirst Bank that provides various banking services to individual and corporate customers. It accepts demand, time, savings, and other deposits; checking, money market, and IRA accounts; and certificates of deposit. The company's loan products include commercial lending products, including seasonal, bridge, and term loans for working capital, expansion of the business, acquisition of property, and plant and equipment, as well as commercial lines of credit; commercial real estate loans, construction and development loans, and residential real estate loans; and consumer loans, such as home equity loans, vehicle financing, loans secured by deposits, and secured and unsecured personal loans. It also offers other banking products and services comprising telephone and mobile banking, Internet banking, direct deposit, traveler's checks, safe deposit boxes, attorney trust accounts, automatic account transfers, automated teller machines, and debit and credit card systems; treasury and cash management services; wire transfer, night depository, banking-by-mail, and remote capture services; and correspondent banking services to other financial institutions. In addition, the company holds and manages participations in residential mortgages and commercial real estate loans originated by ServisFirst Bank in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee. The company was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama.