Critical Analysis: Southern California Bancorp (NASDAQ:BCAL) vs. CF Bankshares (NASDAQ:CFBK)

Southern California Bancorp (NASDAQ:BCAL) and CF Bankshares (NASDAQ:CFBK) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

55.4% of Southern California Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 41.1% of CF Bankshares shares are held by institutional investors. 19.6% of Southern California Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 18.6% of CF Bankshares shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Southern California Bancorp and CF Bankshares, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Southern California Bancorp	0	1	1	0	2.50
CF Bankshares	0	0	0	0	N/A

Profitability

This table compares Southern California Bancorp and CF Bankshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Southern California Bancorp	20.42%	9.35%	1.12%
CF Bankshares	15.08%	11.34%	0.85%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Southern California Bancorp and CF Bankshares’ top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Southern California Bancorp	$126.90 million	2.05	$25.91 million	$1.39	10.09
CF Bankshares	$112.31 million	0.83	$16.94 million	$2.61	7.07

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

Summary

Southern California Bancorp beats CF Bankshares on 9 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Southern California Bancorp

Southern California Bancorp operates as the holding company for Bank of Southern California, N.A. that provides various financial products to individuals, professionals, and small-to medium-sized businesses. The company offers checking, personal and business savings, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. It also provides home equity lines of credit, business loans and lines of credit, commercial real estate and construction loans, small business administration loans, letters of credit, and personal and business credit cards. In addition, the company provides cash vault, sweep accounts, and remote deposit capture services; online and mobile banking services; courier service; lockbox services; and merchant services. It operates branches in San Diego, Orange, Ventura, Los Angeles, and Riverside counties, as well as the Inland Empire. The company was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.

About CF Bankshares

CF Bankshares Inc. operates as the bank holding company for CFBank, National Association that provides various banking products and services in the United States. The company accepts savings, retail and business checking accounts, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. It offers single-family mortgage loans; commercial real estate and multi-family residential mortgage loans; commercial loans and equipment leases; residential real estate loans and treasury management depository services; retail banking services and products. In addition, the company offers consumer loans, such as home equity lines of credit, home improvement loans, and loans secured by deposits and purchased loans, as well as other loans. Further, it provides online internet banking, mobile banking, and remote deposits. The company was formerly known as Central Federal Corporation and changed its name to CF Bankshares Inc. in July 2020. CF Bankshares Inc. was founded in 1892 and is based in Columbus, Ohio.