Reviewing 1st Capital Bancorp (OTCMKTS:FISB) and Hanmi Financial (NASDAQ:HAFC)

1st Capital Bancorp (OTCMKTS:FISB) and Hanmi Financial (NASDAQ:HAFC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, risk, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations.

Risk & Volatility

1st Capital Bancorp has a beta of 0.64, meaning that its stock price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hanmi Financial has a beta of 0.87, meaning that its stock price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares 1st Capital Bancorp and Hanmi Financial”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
1st Capital Bancorp	$41.09 million	1.91	$3.54 million	N/A	N/A
Hanmi Financial	$403.51 million	1.95	$80.04 million	$2.08	12.50

Hanmi Financial has higher revenue and earnings than 1st Capital Bancorp.

Profitability

This table compares 1st Capital Bancorp and Hanmi Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
1st Capital Bancorp	8.20%	N/A	N/A
Hanmi Financial	14.80%	8.87%	0.83%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

8.1% of 1st Capital Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.7% of Hanmi Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.6% of Hanmi Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for 1st Capital Bancorp and Hanmi Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
1st Capital Bancorp	0	0	0	0	0.00
Hanmi Financial	0	3	2	0	2.40

Hanmi Financial has a consensus target price of $24.38, suggesting a potential downside of 6.25%. Given Hanmi Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Hanmi Financial is more favorable than 1st Capital Bancorp.

Summary

Hanmi Financial beats 1st Capital Bancorp on 12 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About 1st Capital Bancorp

1st Capital Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for 1st Capital Bank that provides various banking products and services for businesses, professionals, real estate investors, family commercial entities, and individuals in the Central Coast region of California. It offers checking, saving, money market, savings, and certificate of deposit accounts, as well as individual retirement and health savings accounts; and other services including debit cards, check orders, and cannabis banking services. The company also provides lending services, which includes business, agriculture, and wine industry lending; commercial real estate and personal loans; and small business administration loans, and government guaranteed lending solutions. In addition, it offers electronic banking services including online services, such as personal and business online banking; and cash management services comprising ACH origination, online wire transfer, positive pay, merchant card, and remote deposit capture services. The company was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Salinas, California.

About Hanmi Financial

Hanmi Financial Corporation operates as the holding company for Hanmi Bank that provides business banking products and services in the United States. It offers various deposit products, including noninterest-bearing checking accounts, savings accounts, negotiable order of withdrawal accounts, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit. The company also provides real estate loans, such as commercial property, construction, and residential property loans; and commercial and industrial loans, such as commercial term loans and commercial lines of credit; and international finance and trade services and products, such as letters of credit, and import and export financing. In addition, it offers small business administration loans for business purposes, which comprise owner-occupied commercial real estate, business acquisitions, start-ups, franchise financing, working capital, improvements and renovations, inventory and equipment, and debt-refinancing, as well as equipment lease financing. The company was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.