Head-To-Head Comparison: OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) versus Agri Bank China (OTCMKTS:ACGBY)

OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) and Agri Bank China (OTCMKTS:ACGBY) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and dividends.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for OceanFirst Financial and Agri Bank China, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
OceanFirst Financial	0	5	0	0	2.00
Agri Bank China	0	2	0	0	2.00

OceanFirst Financial presently has a consensus price target of $20.33, suggesting a potential upside of 21.68%. Given OceanFirst Financial’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe OceanFirst Financial is more favorable than Agri Bank China.

Volatility and Risk

OceanFirst Financial has a beta of 1.02, meaning that its stock price is 2% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Agri Bank China has a beta of 0.1, meaning that its stock price is 90% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares OceanFirst Financial and Agri Bank China’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
OceanFirst Financial	6.38%	5.34%	0.59%
Agri Bank China	21.51%	9.38%	0.60%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

71.0% of OceanFirst Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.4% of OceanFirst Financial shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

OceanFirst Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.8%. Agri Bank China pays an annual dividend of $0.73 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. OceanFirst Financial pays out 94.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Agri Bank China pays out 25.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares OceanFirst Financial and Agri Bank China”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
OceanFirst Financial	$437.72 million	3.69	$70.98 million	$0.85	19.66
Agri Bank China	$188.76 billion	1.56	$40.48 billion	$2.89	7.28

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

About OceanFirst Financial

OceanFirst Financial Corp. operates as the bank holding company for OceanFirst Bank N.A. that provides community banking services to retail and commercial customers. It accepts money market accounts, savings accounts, interest-bearing checking accounts, non-interest-bearing accounts, and time deposits, that includes brokered deposits to retail, government, and business customers. The company also offers commercial real estate, multi-family, land loans, construction, and commercial and industrial loans; fixed-rate and adjustable-rate mortgage loans that are secured by one-to-four family residences; and consumer loans, such as home equity loans and lines of credit, student loans, overdraft line of credit, loans on savings accounts, and other consumer loans. In addition, it invests in mortgage-backed securities, securities issued by the U.S. Government and agencies, corporate securities, and other investments. Further, the company offers bankcard, trust and asset management services; and bank owned life insurance products. The company was founded in 1902 and is based in Red Bank, New Jersey.

About Agri Bank China

Agricultural Bank of China Limited, together with its subsidiaries, provides banking products and services. The company operates through Corporate Banking, Personal Banking, and Treasury Operations segments. It offers demand, personal call, foreign currency call, time or demand optional, foreign exchange call, foreign exchange time, savings, agreed term, and negotiated deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit; and loans, including housing, consumer, business, fixed asset, working capital, real estate, and entrusted syndicated loans, as well as trade finances, guarantees and commitments, and loans with custody of export rebates accounts. The company provides credit card, debit card, payment and settlement, private banking, cash management, investment banking, custody, financial market, and financial institution services, as well as trading and wealth management services; and personal fund collection and automatic transfer services. In addition, it offers agro-related personal and corporate banking products and services; telephone, mobile, self-service, television, and SMS banking services; financial leasing services; fund management services; asset custodian services; and insurance and reinsurance related products and services. The company operates domestic branches, including specialized institutions, training institutes, tier-1 branches, tier-2 branches, tier-1 sub-branches, foundation-level branch outlets and other establishments; overseas branches in Hong Kong, Singapore, Seoul, New York, Dubai International Financial Centre, Tokyo, Frankfurt, Sydney, Luxemburg, Dubai, London, Macao, and Hanoi; and overseas representative offices in Vancouver, Taipei, Sao Paulo, and Dushanbe. The company was founded in 1951 and is based in Beijing, the People's Republic of China.