Emclaire Financial (NASDAQ:EMCF – Get Rating) and Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE – Get Rating) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and risk.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Emclaire Financial and Hope Bancorp's revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

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

Profitability

This table compares Emclaire Financial and Hope Bancorp's net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Emclaire Financial and Hope Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.

Hope Bancorp has a consensus target price of $15.00, suggesting a potential upside of 9.89%. Given Hope Bancorp's higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Hope Bancorp is more favorable than Emclaire Financial.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

14.3% of Emclaire Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.8% of Hope Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 15.5% of Emclaire Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.1% of Hope Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Emclaire Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. Hope Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. Emclaire Financial pays out 33.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Hope Bancorp pays out 30.9% 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. Emclaire Financial has increased its dividend for 10 consecutive years. Hope Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Risk and Volatility

Emclaire Financial has a beta of 0.28, suggesting that its share price is 72% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hope Bancorp has a beta of 1.22, suggesting that its share price is 22% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Hope Bancorp beats Emclaire Financial on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Emclaire Financial

(Get Rating)

Emclaire Financial Corp operates as the bank holding company for The Farmers National Bank of Emlenton that provides retail and commercial financial products and services to individuals and businesses in western Pennsylvania. The company's deposit products include checking, savings, and term certificate accounts; savings and time deposits; non-interest bearing and interest-bearing demand deposit accounts; and money market accounts. Its loan portfolio comprises one-to-four family mortgage loans, home equity loans, commercial business and commercial real estate loans, consumer loans, and loans to one borrower. The company operates a network of 19 retail branch offices in Venango, Allegheny, Butler, Clarion, Clearfield, Crawford, Elk, Jefferson, and Mercer counties, and Pennsylvania. The company was founded in 1900 and is headquartered in Emlenton, Pennsylvania.

About Hope Bancorp

(Get Rating)

Hope Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Bank of Hope that provides banking services for small and medium-sized businesses, and individuals in the United States. The company accepts personal and business checking, money market, savings, time deposit, and individual retirement accounts. Its loan products include commercial loans to businesses for various purposes, such as working capital, purchasing inventory, debt refinancing, business acquisitions, and other business related financing needs; real estate loans; small business administration loans; and consumer loans, such as single-family mortgage, home equity, auto, credit card, and personal loans. The company also offers trade finance services, including the issuance and negotiation of letters of credit, as well as handles documentary collections; warehouse lines of credit to mortgage loan originators; and commercial equipment lease financing. In addition, it provides cash management services, such as remote deposit capture, lock box, and ACH origination services; investment and wealth management services; mobile banking services; debit card services; foreign exchanges services, safe deposit boxes, and other customary bank services; internet banking services; and automated teller machine services. As of December 31, 2021, the company operated 47 full-service branches in California, Washington, Texas, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, and Alabama; SBA loan production offices in Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, Denver, Portland, Seattle, Fremont, and Southern California; and a representative office in Seoul, Korea. Hope Bancorp, Inc. was incorporated in 2000 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.

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