Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) versus BV Financial (NASDAQ:BVFL) Critical Contrast

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) and BV Financial (NASDAQ:BVFL) 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, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability and earnings.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for Unity Bancorp and BV Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

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

Unity Bancorp presently has a consensus target price of $65.00, suggesting a potential upside of 19.24%. Given Unity Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Unity Bancorp is more favorable than BV Financial.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

42.3% of Unity Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 42.7% of BV Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 29.7% of Unity Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 11.8% of BV Financial shares are held by company 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.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Unity Bancorp and BV Financial”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Unity Bancorp	$133.75 million	4.09	$57.95 million	$5.67	9.61
BV Financial	$39.65 million	4.38	$13.49 million	$1.47	13.27

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

Volatility & Risk

Unity Bancorp has a beta of 0.66, indicating that its share price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BV Financial has a beta of 0.42, indicating that its share price is 58% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Unity Bancorp	30.76%	16.19%	1.81%
BV Financial	25.74%	8.54%	1.83%

Summary

Unity Bancorp beats BV Financial on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About BV Financial

BV Financial, Inc. operates as the holding company for BayVanguard Bank that provides various financial services to individuals and businesses in Maryland. The company offers checking and money market accounts, savings accounts, and certificates of deposits. Its loan products include real estate, home equity, construction, lot, auto, boat, and other personal loans; and commercial lending products, such as commercial equipment/installation, commercial real estate, construction, investment real estate, lines of credit, and SBA loans, as well as loans for short-term real estate purchase, renovation, and sale projects. The company offers ATM, overdraft, safe deposit, bill pay, remote deposit capture, ACH origination, merchant, and online banking services. BV Financial, Inc. was founded in 1873 and is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland.