Reviewing TriCo Bancshares (NASDAQ:TCBK) & Suncrest Bank (OTCMKTS:SBKK)

Suncrest Bank (OTCMKTS:SBKK) and TriCo Bancshares (NASDAQ:TCBK) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation and profitability.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Suncrest Bank and TriCo Bancshares’ top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Suncrest Bank	$46.73 million	4.92	$16.96 million	$1.37	13.56
TriCo Bancshares	$499.75 million	2.59	$117.39 million	$3.28	11.89

TriCo Bancshares has higher revenue and earnings than Suncrest Bank. TriCo Bancshares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Suncrest Bank, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

5.9% of Suncrest Bank shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 59.1% of TriCo Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. 4.6% of TriCo Bancshares shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Suncrest Bank has a beta of 0.88, indicating that its share price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, TriCo Bancshares has a beta of 0.56, indicating that its share price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Suncrest Bank and TriCo Bancshares, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Suncrest Bank	0	0	0	0	N/A
TriCo Bancshares	0	1	3	0	2.75

TriCo Bancshares has a consensus target price of $42.00, suggesting a potential upside of 7.72%. Given TriCo Bancshares’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe TriCo Bancshares is more favorable than Suncrest Bank.

Profitability

This table compares Suncrest Bank and TriCo Bancshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Suncrest Bank	N/A	N/A	N/A
TriCo Bancshares	21.25%	9.75%	1.11%

Summary

TriCo Bancshares beats Suncrest Bank on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Suncrest Bank

Suncrest Bank engages in the provision of personal and commercial banking services. It provides checking, savings and certificates of deposits, lending, cash management, online and mobile banking, e-statements, remote deposit capture, financial calculators, and customer service center. It also offers agricultural real estate loans, production finance, equipment financing and leasing, development loans, long-term fixed rate, SBA and USDA loans, valley small business guaranteed loans, USDA B&I loans, farmer mac loans, and cal-cap loans. The company was founded on May 19, 2008 and is headquartered in Visalia, CA.

About TriCo Bancshares

TriCo Bancshares operates as a bank holding company for Tri Counties Bank that provides commercial banking services to individual and corporate customers. The company accepts demand, savings, and time deposits. It also provides small business loans; real estate mortgage loans, such as residential and commercial loans; consumer loans; mortgage, auto, other vehicle, and personal loans; commercial loans, including agricultural loans; and real estate construction loans. In addition, the company offers treasury management services; credit and debit cards; and other customary banking services, including safe deposit boxes; and independent financial and broker-dealer services. Further, it provides checking, saving, and money market accounts, as well as individual retirement accounts; equipment financing; certificate of deposit account registry service; certificated of deposit; and IntraFi cash service. TriCo Bancshares was founded in 1975 and is headquartered in Chico, California.