ECB Bancorp (NASDAQ:ECBK) versus Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) Financial Review

ECB Bancorp (NASDAQ:ECBK) and Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation and profitability.

Risk & Volatility

ECB Bancorp has a beta of 0.45, indicating that its stock price is 55% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Unity Bancorp has a beta of 0.64, indicating that its stock price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares ECB Bancorp and Unity Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ECB Bancorp	8.69%	3.93%	0.45%
Unity Bancorp	29.85%	15.60%	1.74%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for ECB Bancorp and Unity Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ECB Bancorp	0	1	0	0	2.00
Unity Bancorp	0	0	3	0	3.00

Unity Bancorp has a consensus price target of $62.00, indicating a potential upside of 19.21%. Given Unity Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Unity Bancorp is more favorable than ECB Bancorp.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares ECB Bancorp and Unity Bancorp”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ECB Bancorp	$68.27 million	2.12	$3.99 million	$0.79	20.85
Unity Bancorp	$164.21 million	3.18	$41.45 million	$5.28	9.85

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

30.3% of ECB Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 42.3% of Unity Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 9.0% of ECB Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 29.7% of Unity Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Unity Bancorp beats ECB Bancorp on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ECB Bancorp

ECB Bancorp, Inc. operating as a holding company for Everett Co-operative Bank that provides various banking products and services. The company accepts various deposit products, including certificate of deposit accounts, IRAs, money market accounts, savings accounts, demand deposit accounts, and interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing checking accounts. It also offers one- to four-family residential real estate, commercial real estate and multifamily real estate, construction and land, commercial, and consumer loans, as well as home equity loans and lines of credit. In addition, the company invests in securities, consisting primarily of U.S. government and federal agency obligations, mortgage-backed securities, and corporate bonds. ECB Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1890 and is based in Everett, Massachusetts.

About Unity Bancorp

Unity Bancorp, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for Unity Bank that provides range of commercial and retail banking services to individuals, small and medium sized businesses, and professional communities. It offers personal and business checking accounts, time deposits, money market accounts, savings accounts, and retirement accounts, as well as noninterest and interest-bearing demand deposits. The company also provides small business administration loans; commercial loans; and residential mortgage and consumer loans, including residential real estate, home equity lines and loans, and residential construction lines, as well as personal loans. In addition, it offers credit and debit cards, wire transfer, safe deposit box, automated teller, and internet and mobile banking services; and automated clearing house origination and remote deposit capture services. Unity Bancorp, Inc. was incorporated in 1991 and is headquartered in Clinton, New Jersey.