Critical Contrast: Greene County Bancorp (NASDAQ:GCBC) vs. OptimumBank (NASDAQ:OPHC)

OptimumBank (NASDAQ:OPHC) and Greene County Bancorp (NASDAQ:GCBC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings and dividends.

Volatility & Risk

OptimumBank has a beta of 0.31, suggesting that its stock price is 69% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Greene County Bancorp has a beta of 0.47, suggesting that its stock price is 53% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

7.4% of OptimumBank shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 13.4% of Greene County Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 18.7% of OptimumBank shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.0% of Greene County Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares OptimumBank and Greene County Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
OptimumBank	19.62%	14.10%	1.31%
Greene County Bancorp	28.14%	15.60%	1.31%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for OptimumBank and Greene County Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
OptimumBank	0	0	3	1	3.25
Greene County Bancorp	0	0	1	0	3.00

OptimumBank currently has a consensus target price of $6.67, indicating a potential downside of 24.16%. Given OptimumBank’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe OptimumBank is more favorable than Greene County Bancorp.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares OptimumBank and Greene County Bancorp”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
OptimumBank	$58.79 million	1.89	$6.28 million	$0.87	10.10
Greene County Bancorp	$145.79 million	4.02	$41.02 million	$2.41	14.27

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

Summary

Greene County Bancorp beats OptimumBank on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About OptimumBank

OptimumBank Holdings, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for OptimumBank that provides various consumer and commercial banking services to individuals and businesses. It accepts demand interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing, savings, money market, and NOW accounts, as well as time deposits, wire transfers, ACH services, and certificates of deposit. The company also offers residential and commercial real estate, multi-family real estate, land and construction loans; commercial loans are generally used for working capital purposes or for acquiring equipment, inventory, and furniture; and consumer loans for various purposes, including purchases of automobiles, recreational vehicles, boats, home improvements, lines of credit, personal, and deposit account collateralized loans. In addition, it provides Visa debit and ATM cards; cash management, notary, and night depository services; and direct deposits, money orders, cashier's checks, domestic collections, and banking by mail, as well as internet banking services. The company was founded in 2000 and is based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

About Greene County Bancorp

Greene County Bancorp, Inc. operates as a holding company for The Bank of Greene County that provides various financial services in the United States. The company's deposit products include savings, NOW accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, non-interest bearing checking accounts, and individual retirement accounts. Its loan portfolio consists of residential, construction and land, and multifamily loans; commercial real estate mortgage loans; consumer loans, such as loans on new and used automobiles, personal loans, and home equity loans, as well as other consumer installment loans, including passbook loans, unsecured home improvement loans, recreational vehicle loans, and deposit account overdrafts; and commercial loans. The company was founded in 1889 and is based in Catskill, New York. Greene County Bancorp, Inc. is a subsidiary of Greene County Bancorp, MHC.