Contrasting Republic Bancorp (NASDAQ:RBCAA) and OptimumBank (NASDAQ:OPHC)

Republic Bancorp (NASDAQ:RBCAA) and OptimumBank (NASDAQ:OPHC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, dividends, profitability, institutional ownership, risk and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Republic Bancorp and OptimumBank, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Republic Bancorp	0	2	1	1	2.75
OptimumBank	0	1	3	0	2.75

Republic Bancorp currently has a consensus price target of $98.00, indicating a potential upside of 7.55%. OptimumBank has a consensus price target of $6.67, indicating a potential downside of 26.50%. Given Republic Bancorp’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Republic Bancorp is more favorable than OptimumBank.

Profitability

This table compares Republic Bancorp and OptimumBank’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Republic Bancorp	25.33%	11.12%	1.78%
OptimumBank	19.62%	14.10%	1.31%

Volatility & Risk

Republic Bancorp has a beta of 0.55, suggesting that its stock price is 45% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, OptimumBank has a beta of 0.31, suggesting that its stock price is 69% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Republic Bancorp and OptimumBank”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Republic Bancorp	$414.06 million	4.32	$131.32 million	$6.62	13.76
OptimumBank	$58.79 million	1.95	$6.28 million	$0.87	10.43

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

24.4% of Republic Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 7.4% of OptimumBank shares are held by institutional investors. 55.9% of Republic Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 18.7% of OptimumBank shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Republic Bancorp beats OptimumBank on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Republic Bancorp

Republic Bancorp, Inc. is a financial holding company headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. Through its subsidiary, Republic Bank & Trust Company, it provides personal and business banking services, including deposit accounts, loans, mortgage products and cash-management services. The company also offers tax refund processing and related financial products through its Tax Refund Solutions business. These services support tax preparers and their customers across the United States. Republic Bank serves customers through banking locations in Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio and Florida, as well as through digital banking channels.

About OptimumBank

OptimumBank is a community bank headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Through its banking operations, the company provides financial products and services to individuals, businesses and professional customers in South Florida. The bank’s offerings include deposit accounts, checking and savings products, certificates of deposit, online banking and other traditional consumer banking services. Its lending activities include commercial real estate loans, business financing, residential real estate loans and consumer loans.