Head to Head Review: Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) versus California Business Bank (OTCMKTS:CABB)

California Business Bank (OTCMKTS:CABB) and Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, risk and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares California Business Bank and Hilltop’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
California Business Bank	N/A	N/A	N/A
Hilltop	6.65%	4.90%	0.66%

Risk and Volatility

California Business Bank has a beta of 0.01, meaning that its stock price is 99% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hilltop has a beta of 1.13, meaning that its stock price is 13% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

57.1% of Hilltop shares are held by institutional investors. 29.3% of Hilltop shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for California Business Bank and Hilltop, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
California Business Bank	0	0	0	0	0.00
Hilltop	1	2	0	0	1.67

Hilltop has a consensus target price of $34.50, indicating a potential upside of 19.42%. Given Hilltop’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Hilltop is more favorable than California Business Bank.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares California Business Bank and Hilltop”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
California Business Bank	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Hilltop	$1.11 billion	1.68	$109.65 million	$1.63	17.72

Hilltop has higher revenue and earnings than California Business Bank.

Summary

Hilltop beats California Business Bank on 9 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About California Business Bank

California Business Bank provides various financial products and services for small businesses and entrepreneurs. The company offers various personal and business deposit products; and business and commercial loans comprising SBA, commercial and industrial, and commercial real estate loans. It also provides online and mobile banking, mobile deposit, bill pay, and other services. The company was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Irvine, California.

About Hilltop

Hilltop Holdings Inc. provides business and consumer banking services. It operates through three segments: Banking, Broker-Dealer, and Mortgage Origination. The Banking segment offers savings, checking, interest-bearing checking, and money market accounts; certificates of deposit; lines and letters of credit, home improvement and equity loans, loans for purchasing and carrying securities, term, agricultural and commercial real estate, equipment loans, and other lending products; and mortgage, commercial and industrial loans, and term and construction finance. It also provides treasury management, asset management, check cards, safe deposit boxes, online banking, bill pay, and overdraft privilege services; and estate planning, management and administration, investment portfolio management, employee benefit accounts, and individual retirement accounts services, as well as automated teller machines. The Broker-Dealer segment offers public finance services that assist public entities in originating, syndicating, and distributing securities of municipalities and political subdivisions; specialized advisory and investment banking services; advice and guidance to arbitrage rebate compliance, portfolio management, and local government investment pool administration; advisory services and products for derivatives and commodities; agricultural insurance; and sells, trades in, and underwrites U.S. government and government agency bonds, corporate bonds, and municipal bonds; mortgage-backed, asset-backed, and commercial mortgage-backed securities and structured products; and provides asset and liability management advisory, clearing, retail, and securities lending services. The Mortgage Origination segment offers fixed and adjustable rate mortgages, jumbo, new construction, Federal Housing Administration, Veterans Affairs, and United States Department of Agriculture loans. Hilltop Holdings Inc. was incorporated in 1998 and is based in Dallas, Texas.