Reviewing First Business Financial Services (NASDAQ:FBIZ) and Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB)

Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB) and First Business Financial Services (NASDAQ:FBIZ) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Metropolitan Bank and First Business Financial Services”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Metropolitan Bank	$269.46 million	2.66	$76.90 million	$5.32	12.05
First Business Financial Services	$148.94 million	2.74	$37.03 million	$4.66	10.57

Metropolitan Bank has higher revenue and earnings than First Business Financial Services. First Business Financial Services is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Metropolitan Bank, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Metropolitan Bank and First Business Financial Services, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Metropolitan Bank	0	0	4	0	3.00
First Business Financial Services	0	0	4	0	3.00

Metropolitan Bank presently has a consensus target price of $66.38, indicating a potential upside of 3.52%. First Business Financial Services has a consensus target price of $50.00, indicating a potential upside of 1.50%. Given Metropolitan Bank’s higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Metropolitan Bank is more favorable than First Business Financial Services.

Profitability

This table compares Metropolitan Bank and First Business Financial Services’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Metropolitan Bank	12.47%	10.02%	0.94%
First Business Financial Services	15.46%	13.70%	1.10%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

79.8% of Metropolitan Bank shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 60.1% of First Business Financial Services shares are held by institutional investors. 6.5% of Metropolitan Bank shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.3% of First Business Financial Services shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

Metropolitan Bank has a beta of 1.12, indicating that its stock price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Business Financial Services has a beta of 0.83, indicating that its stock price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Metropolitan Bank beats First Business Financial Services on 8 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Metropolitan Bank

Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. operates as the bank holding company for Metropolitan Commercial Bank that provides a range of business, commercial, and retail banking products and services to small businesses, middle-market enterprises, public entities, and individuals in the New York metropolitan area. The company offers checking, savings, term deposit, money market, demand deposit, and other interest-bearing transaction accounts. It also provides lending products, including commercial real estate, multi-family, construction, and one-to four-family real estate loans; commercial and industrial loans; consumer loans; acquisition and renovation loans; loans to refinance or return borrower equity; loans on owner-occupied properties; working capital lines of credit; trade finance and letters of credit; and term loans. In addition, the company offers cash management services, as well as online and mobile banking, ACH, remote deposit capture, and debit cards. The company was formerly known as Metbank Holding Corp. and changed its name to Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. in January 2007. Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. was incorporated in 1997 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

About First Business Financial Services

First Business Financial Services, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for First Business Bank that provides commercial banking products and services for small and medium-sized businesses, business owners, executives, professionals, and high net worth individuals in Wisconsin, Kansas, and Missouri. The company offers real estate lending, commercial and industrial lending, asset-based lending, accounts receivable financing, equipment financing loans and leases, floorplan financing, vendor financing, small business administration lending and servicing, treasury management solutions, and company retirement services. It also provides private wealth management for individuals, including creating and executing asset allocation strategies, trust and estate administration, financial planning, investment management, and access to brokerage and custody-only services. In addition, the company offers bank consulting consisting of investment portfolio administrative and asset liability management services, and commercial deposit accounts. The company was founded in 1909 and is headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin.