Contrasting Suncrest Bank (OTCMKTS:SBKK) & Silvergate Capital (NYSE:SI)

Silvergate Capital (NYSE:SI) and Suncrest Bank (OTCMKTS:SBKK) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Silvergate Capital and Suncrest Bank’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Silvergate Capital	45.10%	8.87%	0.81%
Suncrest Bank	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for Silvergate Capital and Suncrest Bank, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Silvergate Capital	0	0	0	0	N/A
Suncrest Bank	0	0	0	0	N/A

Insider and Institutional Ownership

94.4% of Silvergate Capital shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 5.9% of Suncrest Bank shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.7% of Silvergate Capital shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

Silvergate Capital has a beta of 2.23, indicating that its share price is 123% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Suncrest Bank has a beta of 0.88, indicating that its share price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Silvergate Capital and Suncrest Bank’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Silvergate Capital	-$609.47 million	-0.03	-$937.91 million	($29.96)	-0.02
Suncrest Bank	$46.73 million	4.92	$16.96 million	$1.37	13.56

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

Summary

Silvergate Capital beats Suncrest Bank on 6 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Silvergate Capital

Silvergate Capital Corporation operates as a bank holding company for Silvergate Bank that provides banking products and services to business and individual clients in the United States. The company accepts deposit products, including interest and noninterest bearing demand accounts, money market and savings accounts, and certificates of deposit accounts. Its loan products comprise one-to-four family real estate loans, multi-family real estate loans, commercial real estate loans, construction loans, commercial and industrial loans, mortgage warehouse loans, and reverse mortgage loans, as well as consumer loans and other loans secured by personal property. The company also provides cash management services for digital currency-related businesses. Silvergate Capital Corporation was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in La Jolla, California.

About Suncrest Bank

Suncrest Bank engages in the provision of personal and commercial banking services. It provides checking, savings and certificates of deposits, lending, cash management, online and mobile banking, e-statements, remote deposit capture, financial calculators, and customer service center. It also offers agricultural real estate loans, production finance, equipment financing and leasing, development loans, long-term fixed rate, SBA and USDA loans, valley small business guaranteed loans, USDA B&I loans, farmer mac loans, and cal-cap loans. The company was founded on May 19, 2008 and is headquartered in Visalia, CA.