Head-To-Head Contrast: Princeton Bancorp (NASDAQ:BPRN) versus Oak Valley Bancorp (NASDAQ:OVLY)

Princeton Bancorp (NASDAQ:BPRN) and Oak Valley Bancorp (NASDAQ:OVLY) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, risk, institutional ownership and earnings.

Risk & Volatility

Princeton Bancorp has a beta of 0.48, indicating that its share price is 52% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Oak Valley Bancorp has a beta of 0.24, indicating that its share price is 76% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Princeton Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. Oak Valley Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.75 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Princeton Bancorp pays out 53.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Oak Valley Bancorp pays out 27.0% 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. Oak Valley Bancorp has raised its dividend for 11 consecutive years.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Princeton Bancorp and Oak Valley Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Princeton Bancorp	0	2	1	0	2.33
Oak Valley Bancorp	0	0	1	0	3.00

Princeton Bancorp currently has a consensus price target of $37.50, indicating a potential downside of 15.64%. Given Princeton Bancorp’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Princeton Bancorp is more favorable than Oak Valley Bancorp.

Profitability

This table compares Princeton Bancorp and Oak Valley Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Princeton Bancorp	15.01%	7.46%	0.90%
Oak Valley Bancorp	24.05%	11.03%	1.15%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

43.4% of Princeton Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 30.9% of Oak Valley Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 23.1% of Princeton Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 13.9% of Oak Valley Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Princeton Bancorp and Oak Valley Bancorp”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Princeton Bancorp	$139.02 million	2.18	$18.61 million	$3.00	14.82
Oak Valley Bancorp	$84.32 million	3.45	$23.91 million	$2.78	12.44

Oak Valley Bancorp has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Princeton Bancorp. Oak Valley Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Princeton Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

About Princeton Bancorp

Princeton Bancorp, Inc. is the bank holding company for The Princeton Bank, a community bank serving individuals, businesses and organizations in central New Jersey and nearby Pennsylvania communities. The bank traces its history to 1937. The Princeton Bank offers deposit accounts, residential mortgages, commercial real estate loans, business financing and other consumer lending. Its services also include online and mobile banking, cash management and other banking services for local businesses.

About Oak Valley Bancorp

Oak Valley Bancorp is a bank holding company headquartered in Oakdale, California. Its principal subsidiary, Oak Valley Community Bank, provides banking services to individuals, businesses and nonprofit organizations. The bank offers business and personal deposit accounts, commercial and real estate lending, agricultural financing, cash-management services and other customary community-banking products. Its lending supports needs such as business operations, property purchases and development. Oak Valley Community Bank serves communities in California’s Central Valley, Sacramento region and Eastern Sierra.