Head-To-Head Review: Madison County Financial (OTCMKTS:MCBK) & USCB Financial (NASDAQ:USCB)

Madison County Financial (OTCMKTS:MCBK) and USCB Financial (NASDAQ:USCB) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, valuation, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Volatility & Risk

Madison County Financial has a beta of 0.11, meaning that its stock price is 89% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, USCB Financial has a beta of 0.6, meaning that its stock price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

61.3% of USCB Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 16.9% of Madison County Financial shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 49.5% of USCB Financial shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Madison County Financial and USCB Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Madison County Financial	0	0	0	0	0.00
USCB Financial	0	1	3	1	3.00

USCB Financial has a consensus target price of $22.00, indicating a potential upside of 12.99%. Given USCB Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe USCB Financial is more favorable than Madison County Financial.

Profitability

This table compares Madison County Financial and USCB Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Madison County Financial	N/A	N/A	N/A
USCB Financial	16.36%	14.86%	1.20%

Dividends

Madison County Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. USCB Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.50 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. USCB Financial pays out 38.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. USCB Financial has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years. USCB Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Madison County Financial and USCB Financial”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Madison County Financial	$32.34 million	2.52	$6.50 million	N/A	N/A
USCB Financial	$159.60 million	2.23	$26.10 million	$1.30	14.98

USCB Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Madison County Financial.

Summary

USCB Financial beats Madison County Financial on 14 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Madison County Financial

Madison County Financial, Inc. operates as the holding company for Madison County Bank that provides banking and financial services to individual and corporate customers in Nebraska, the United States. It offers checking, money market savings, savings, and individual retirement accounts; certificates of deposit; credit and debit cards; home loans; and consumer loans, including home equity lines of credit, second mortgage, home improvement, recreational vehicle, personal, and overdraft protection loans, as well as loans for automobiles, trucks, and vans. The company also provides agricultural real estate, machinery and equipment, livestock and crop, and operating loans; and commercial real estate, construction, investment property, and working capital loans, as well as equipment financing services. In addition, it offers online and mobile banking, and merchant services. The company was formerly known as Madison County Holding Company and changed its name to Madison County Financial, Inc. in October 2012. Madison County Financial, Inc. was founded in 1888 and is headquartered in Madison, Nebraska.

About USCB Financial

USCB Financial Holdings, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for U.S. Century Bank that engages in the provision of various personal and business banking products and services in the United States. It accepts various deposit products, including commercial and consumer checking, money market deposit, savings, and time deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. It also offers loan products, such as small business administration loans, yacht financing, residential and commercial real estate loans; commercial and industrial loans; foreign bank loans; and secured and unsecured consumer loans comprising personal loans, overdrafts, and deposit account collateralized loans. The company also offers lockbox, treasury, commercial payments, cash management, and online banking services, as well as provides title insurance policies for real estate transactions. USCB Financial Holdings, Inc. was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Miami, Florida.