BNCCORP (OTCMKTS:BNCC) and U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) Critical Survey

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) and BNCCORP (OTCMKTS:BNCC) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, valuation and earnings.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

77.6% of U.S. Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.2% of U.S. Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 28.4% of BNCCORP shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for U.S. Bancorp and BNCCORP, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
U.S. Bancorp	0	12	7	0	2.37
BNCCORP	0	0	0	0	N/A

U.S. Bancorp presently has a consensus price target of $48.23, suggesting a potential upside of 5.67%. Given U.S. Bancorp’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe U.S. Bancorp is more favorable than BNCCORP.

Volatility & Risk

U.S. Bancorp has a beta of 1.04, meaning that its stock price is 4% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BNCCORP has a beta of 0.85, meaning that its stock price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares U.S. Bancorp and BNCCORP’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
U.S. Bancorp	12.55%	13.34%	0.97%
BNCCORP	14.18%	7.00%	0.77%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares U.S. Bancorp and BNCCORP’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
U.S. Bancorp	$27.25 billion	2.61	$5.43 billion	$3.02	15.11
BNCCORP	$53.28 million	1.71	$5.70 million	$1.67	15.41

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

Summary

U.S. Bancorp beats BNCCORP on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About U.S. Bancorp

U.S. Bancorp, a financial services holding company, provides various financial services to individuals, businesses, institutional organizations, governmental entities, and other financial institutions in the United States. It operates through Wealth, Corporate, Commercial and Institutional Banking; Consumer and Business Banking; Payment Services; and Treasury and Corporate Support segments. The company offers depository services, including checking accounts, savings accounts, and time certificate contracts; and lending services, such as traditional credit products and credit card services, lease financing and import/export trade, asset-backed lending, agricultural finance, and other products. It also provides ancillary services comprising capital markets, treasury management, and receivable lock-box collection services to corporate and governmental entity customers. In addition, the company offers asset management and fiduciary services for individuals, estates, foundations, business corporations, and charitable organizations. Further, it provides investment and insurance products to its customers principally within its domestic markets, as well as fund administration services to mutual and other funds. Additionally, the company provides corporate and purchasing card, and corporate trust services. Furthermore, it offers trust and investment management, merchant and ATM processing, mortgage banking, insurance, and brokerage and leasing services. U.S. Bancorp was founded in 1863 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

About BNCCORP

BNCCORP, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for BNC National Bank that provides community banking, retail and mortgage banking, and wealth management services to businesses and consumers. The company offers commercial banking services, including business financing, commercial real estate lending, small business administration loans, business checking, cash management, corporate credit cards, and merchant services to small to middle-market businesses. It also provides retail and mortgage banking services, such as personal checking and savings products, personal loans, and card services; and residential loans through a consumer direct channel, as well as a retail channel. In addition, the company offers wealth management solutions, including 401(k) and other retirement plans, trust services, and personal wealth advisory services. It offers community banking and wealth management services through 11 locations in Arizona and North Dakota; and mortgage banking services through 7 locations in Arizona, North Dakota, Illinois, and Kansas. The company was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Bismarck, North Dakota.