Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) and Peapack-Gladstone Financial (NASDAQ:PGC) Head-To-Head Review

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) and Peapack-Gladstone Financial (NASDAQ:PGC) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, risk, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Banc of California and Peapack-Gladstone Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Banc of California	0	3	6	2	2.91
Peapack-Gladstone Financial	0	1	3	1	3.00

Banc of California presently has a consensus price target of $21.00, indicating a potential upside of 14.54%. Peapack-Gladstone Financial has a consensus price target of $56.33, indicating a potential upside of 24.41%. Given Peapack-Gladstone Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Peapack-Gladstone Financial is more favorable than Banc of California.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

86.9% of Banc of California shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 72.8% of Peapack-Gladstone Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.8% of Banc of California shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.8% of Peapack-Gladstone Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

Banc of California has a beta of 0.73, meaning that its stock price is 27% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Peapack-Gladstone Financial has a beta of 0.7, meaning that its stock price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Banc of California and Peapack-Gladstone Financial”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Banc of California	$863.35 million	3.36	$228.97 million	($0.42)	-43.65
Peapack-Gladstone Financial	$444.61 million	1.81	$37.33 million	$2.88	15.72

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

Profitability

This table compares Banc of California and Peapack-Gladstone Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Banc of California	-1.44%	7.98%	0.69%
Peapack-Gladstone Financial	11.09%	7.82%	0.68%

Dividends

Banc of California pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Peapack-Gladstone Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. Banc of California pays out -114.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Peapack-Gladstone Financial pays out 6.9% 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. Banc of California is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Banc of California beats Peapack-Gladstone Financial on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Banc of California

Banc of California, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Banc of California that provides various banking products and services in California. The company offers deposit products, such as checking, savings, money market, demand, and time deposits; certificates of deposit; retirement accounts; and safe deposit boxes. It also provides real estate loans to professional developers and real estate investors for the acquisition, construction, refinancing, renovation, and on-going operation of commercial real estate properties; commercial real estate mortgage, residential real estate mortgage, and real estate construction and land loans; commercial loans and leases, such as equipment finance, other asset-based, venture capital, secured business, warehouse, and other lending services; small business administration loans; and consumer loans comprising personal, auto, and other loans, as well as home equity and revolving lines of credit. In addition, the company offers international banking, multi-state deposit, and asset and investment management services, as well as cash and treasury management services; and online, mobile, remote deposit, and telephone banking services. It serves small and middle-market businesses, venture capital firms, non-profit organizations, business owners, entrepreneurs, professionals, and high-net worth individuals. Banc of California, Inc. was founded in 1941 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.

About Peapack-Gladstone Financial

Peapack-Gladstone Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Peapack-Gladstone Bank that provides private banking and wealth management services in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Banking and Peapack Private. It offers checking and savings accounts, money market and interest-bearing checking accounts, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts. The company also provides working capital lines of credit, term loans for fixed asset acquisitions, commercial mortgages, multi-family mortgages, and other forms of asset-based financing services; and residential mortgages, home equity lines of credit, and other second mortgage loans. In addition, it offers corporate and industrial (C&I) and equipment finance, commercial real estate, multifamily, residential, and consumer lending activities; treasury management services; C&I advisory services; escrow management; deposit generation; investment management services; personal trust services, including services as executor, trustee, administrator, custodian, and guardian; and other financial planning, tax preparation, and advisory services. Further, the company provides telephone and Internet banking, merchant credit card, and customer support sales services. Its private banking clients include businesses, non-profits, and consumers; wealth management clients comprise individuals, families, foundations, endowments, trusts, and estates; and commercial loan clients include business owners, professionals, retailers, contractors, and real estate investors. The company operates its private banking locations in Bedminster, Morristown, Princeton, and Teaneck, New Jersey; and branches in Somerset, Morris, Hunterdon, and Union counties, as well as operates automated teller machines. Peapack-Gladstone Financial Corporation was founded in 1921 and is headquartered in Bedminster, New Jersey.