Comparing LINKBANCORP (NASDAQ:LNKB) & Central Valley Community Bancorp (NASDAQ:CVCY)

Central Valley Community Bancorp (NASDAQ:CVCY) and LINKBANCORP (NASDAQ:LNKB) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, valuation, dividends, profitability, earnings and institutional ownership.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Central Valley Community Bancorp and LINKBANCORP, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Central Valley Community Bancorp	0	1	2	0	2.67
LINKBANCORP	0	1	0	0	2.00

Central Valley Community Bancorp currently has a consensus target price of $20.33, indicating a potential upside of 2.23%. LINKBANCORP has a consensus target price of $7.00, indicating a potential upside of 9.03%. Given LINKBANCORP’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe LINKBANCORP is more favorable than Central Valley Community Bancorp.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

50.2% of Central Valley Community Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 37.5% of LINKBANCORP shares are held by institutional investors. 15.9% of Central Valley Community Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 35.8% of LINKBANCORP shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Central Valley Community Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. LINKBANCORP pays an annual dividend of $0.30 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.7%. Central Valley Community Bancorp pays out 22.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. LINKBANCORP pays out -115.4% 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. LINKBANCORP is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Profitability

This table compares Central Valley Community Bancorp and LINKBANCORP’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Central Valley Community Bancorp	23.39%	13.47%	1.04%
LINKBANCORP	-5.10%	6.11%	0.64%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Central Valley Community Bancorp and LINKBANCORP’s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Central Valley Community Bancorp	$109.44 million	2.15	$25.54 million	$2.17	9.17
LINKBANCORP	$66.29 million	3.62	-$11.97 million	($0.26)	-24.69

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

Risk & Volatility

Central Valley Community Bancorp has a beta of 0.85, meaning that its stock price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, LINKBANCORP has a beta of 0.62, meaning that its stock price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Central Valley Community Bancorp beats LINKBANCORP on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Central Valley Community Bancorp

Central Valley Community Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for the Central Valley Community Bank that provides various commercial banking services to small and middle-market businesses and individuals in the central valley area of California. The company accepts demand, savings, and time deposits; certificates of deposit; and non-interest-bearing demand deposits, as well as provides NOW and money market accounts. It also provides products, such as commercial and industrial loans, as well as loans secured by crop production and livestock; owner occupied and investor commercial real estate, real estate construction and other land, agricultural real estate, and other real estate loans; and equity loans and lines of credit, and installment and other consumer loans. In addition, the company offers domestic and international wire transfer, inquiry, account status, bill paying, account transfers, and cash management and other customary banking services. Central Valley Community Bancorp was founded in 1979 and is based in Fresno, California.

About LINKBANCORP

LINKBANCORP, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for The Gratz Bank, that provides various banking products and services to individuals, families, nonprofit, and business customers in Pennsylvania. Its deposit products include demand, saving, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposits. The company also offers commercial real estate, commercial business, commercial real estate construction, land development, residential real estate, home equity, consumer, agricultural, and municipal loans. It also provides online banking, mobile banking, direct and remote deposit, and cash management services. The company was incorporated in 2018 and is headquartered in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania.