Head to Head Review: Commonwealth Business Bank (OTCMKTS:CBBI) and Peoples Financial (OTCMKTS:PFBX)

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Peoples Financial and Commonwealth Business Bank”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Peoples Financial	$35.66 million	2.85	$3.91 million	$0.88	25.00
Commonwealth Business Bank	$120.93 million	1.01	$22.43 million	$1.79	6.43

Commonwealth Business Bank has higher revenue and earnings than Peoples Financial. Commonwealth Business Bank is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Peoples Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Peoples Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Commonwealth Business Bank pays an annual dividend of $0.50 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. Peoples Financial pays out 40.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Commonwealth Business Bank pays out 27.9% 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. Commonwealth Business Bank is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Profitability

This table compares Peoples Financial and Commonwealth Business Bank’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Peoples Financial	11.31%	4.06%	0.53%
Commonwealth Business Bank	15.52%	N/A	N/A

Volatility and Risk

Peoples Financial has a beta of 0.2, meaning that its share price is 80% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Commonwealth Business Bank has a beta of 0.16, meaning that its share price is 84% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

32.8% of Peoples Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 28.1% of Peoples Financial shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Peoples Financial beats Commonwealth Business Bank on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Peoples Financial

Peoples Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for The Peoples Bank that provides banking, financial, and trust services to government entities, individuals, and small and commercial businesses in Mississippi. The company accepts various deposits, such as interest and non-interest-bearing checking accounts, savings accounts, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts (IRAs). It offers business, commercial, real estate, construction, personal, and installment loans; and personal trust, agencies, and estate services, including living and testamentary trusts, executorships, guardianships, and conservatorships. In addition, the company provides self-directed IRAs; and escrow management, stock transfer, and bond paying agency accounts to corporate customers. Further, it offers other services consisting of safe deposit box rental, wire transfer, night drop facilities, collection, cash management, and Internet banking services. the company provides services to customers of various industries, such as seafood, retail, hospitality, hotel/motel, gaming, and construction. Peoples Financial Corporation was founded in 1896 and is headquartered in Biloxi, Mississippi.

About Commonwealth Business Bank

CBB Bancorp, Inc. operates as the holding company for Commonwealth Business Bank that provides various commercial banking products and services to individuals and businesses in the United States. It offers checking, savings, money market, and certification of deposit accounts; SBA lending; business lines of credit; business term loans; business and commercial property loans; construction loans; and credit cards. The company also provides treasury management, and mobile and online banking services, as well as title and escrow services. In addition, it engages in investing activities; and offers trade finance services, including commercial letters of credit, standby letters of credit, and documentary collection services. The company offers its services through full-service and limited-service branches in Southern California, Dallas, Texas and Honolulu, and Hawaii; and loan production offices in the states of Colorado, Georgia, Texas, and Washington. CBB Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.