ECB Bancorp (ECBK) Competitors

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) and ECB Bancorp (NASDAQ:ECBK) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, media sentiment, community ranking, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings and valuation.

Which has preferable valuation & earnings, SPFI or ECBK?

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

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
South Plains Financial	$191.62M	3.02	$49.72M	$3.00	11.88
ECB Bancorp	$26.92M	5.51	$3.99M	$0.56	29.33

Does the media prefer SPFI or ECBK?

In the previous week, ECB Bancorp had 1 more articles in the media than South Plains Financial. MarketBeat recorded 1 mentions for ECB Bancorp and 0 mentions for South Plains Financial. South Plains Financial's average media sentiment score of 0.00 beat ECB Bancorp's score of -0.20 indicating that South Plains Financial is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
South Plains Financial	Neutral
ECB Bancorp	Neutral

Which has more risk and volatility, SPFI or ECBK?

South Plains Financial has a beta of 0.7, indicating that its stock price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ECB Bancorp has a beta of 0.56, indicating that its stock price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is SPFI or ECBK more profitable?

South Plains Financial has a net margin of 17.20% compared to ECB Bancorp's net margin of 5.85%. South Plains Financial's return on equity of 11.75% beat ECB Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
South Plains Financial	17.20%	11.75%	1.17%
ECB Bancorp	5.85%	2.40%	0.30%

Do institutionals and insiders believe in SPFI or ECBK?

55.0% of South Plains Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 30.3% of ECB Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 24.6% of South Plains Financial shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 9.0% of ECB Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Do analysts prefer SPFI or ECBK?

South Plains Financial currently has a consensus price target of $41.50, suggesting a potential upside of 16.41%. Given South Plains Financial's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe South Plains Financial is more favorable than ECB Bancorp.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
South Plains Financial	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
ECB Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00

Does the MarketBeat Community favor SPFI or ECBK?

South Plains Financial received 50 more outperform votes than ECB Bancorp when rated by MarketBeat users.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
South Plains Financial	Outperform Votes 50 56.82%	Underperform Votes 38 43.18%
ECB Bancorp	N/A	N/A

Summary

South Plains Financial beats ECB Bancorp on 14 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.