Reviewing OP Bancorp (NASDAQ:OPBK) & First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

OP Bancorp (NASDAQ:OPBK) and First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, valuation, profitability, risk and institutional ownership.

Dividends

OP Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. First BanCorp. pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. OP Bancorp pays out 29.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First BanCorp. pays out 33.8% 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. First BanCorp. has raised its dividend for 6 consecutive years. OP Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

53.6% of OP Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.9% of First BanCorp. shares are owned by institutional investors. 9.6% of OP Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.9% of First BanCorp. shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for OP Bancorp and First BanCorp., as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
OP Bancorp	0	1	2	1	3.00
First BanCorp.	0	2	3	4	3.22

OP Bancorp presently has a consensus target price of $17.75, indicating a potential upside of 17.47%. First BanCorp. has a consensus target price of $29.38, indicating a potential upside of 9.51%. Given OP Bancorp’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe OP Bancorp is more favorable than First BanCorp..

Profitability

This table compares OP Bancorp and First BanCorp.’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
OP Bancorp	16.87%	12.59%	1.08%
First BanCorp.	29.24%	18.03%	1.84%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares OP Bancorp and First BanCorp.”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
OP Bancorp	$166.66 million	1.35	$25.64 million	$1.93	7.83
First BanCorp.	$987.37 million	4.15	$344.87 million	$2.37	11.32

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

Risk and Volatility

OP Bancorp has a beta of 0.6, suggesting that its share price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First BanCorp. has a beta of 0.8, suggesting that its share price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

First BanCorp. beats OP Bancorp on 14 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About OP Bancorp

OP Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for Open Bank that provides banking products and services in California. It offers demand, checking, savings, money market, and time deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company also provides commercial real estate, small business administration, commercial and industrial business, single-family residential, term, consumer, and home mortgage loans; trade financing products; and letters of credit, and SWIFT and export advice. In addition, it offers debit and credit card, online transfer and bill payment, electronic delivery of customer statements, and mobile banking solutions for iPhone and Android phones, including remote check deposit with mobile bill pay; direct deposits, cashier's checks, person to person payments, wire transfers, and automated clearing house (ACH) services; and cash management services, including balance reporting, transfers between accounts, wire transfer initiation, ACH origination, and stop payment services, as well as remote deposit capture, positive pay, zero balance accounts, and sweep accounts. The company operates full branch offices in Downtown Los Angeles, Los Angeles Fashion District, Los Angeles Koreatown, Gardena, Buena Park, and Santa Clara in California; and Carrollton, Texas; and operates loan production offices in Pleasanton, California; Atlanta, Georgia; Aurora, Colorado; and Lynnwood in Washington. The company was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.

About First BanCorp.

First BanCorp. operates as a bank holding company for FirstBank Puerto Rico that provides a range of financial products and services to consumers and commercial customers. The company operates through six segments: Commercial and Corporate Banking, Mortgage Banking, Consumer (Retail) Banking, Treasury and Investments, United States Operations, and Virgin Islands Operations. The Commercial and Corporate Banking segment offers commercial loans, including commercial real estate and construction loans, as well as other products, such as cash management and business management services. The Mortgage Banking segment engages in the origination, sale, and servicing of various residential mortgage loans; hedging activities; and purchase of mortgage loans from branch and mortgage bankers. The Consumer (Retail) Banking segment provides auto loans, finance leases, boat and personal loans, credit card loans, and lines of credit; and interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing checking and savings accounts, and individual retirement accounts and retail certificates of deposit (CDs), as well as insurance agency services. The Treasury and Investments segment offers funding and liquidity management services. The United States Operations segment provides checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as retail CDs; traditional commercial and industrial, and commercial real estate loans, residential mortgages, term and construction loan, home equity loans, lines of credit, FHLB advances, and brokered CDs; and internet banking, cash management, remote deposit capture, and automated clearing house transactions services. The Virgin Islands Operations segment is involved in consumer, commercial lending, and deposit-taking activities. First BanCorp. was founded in 1948 and is headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico.