ECB Bancorp (ECBK) Competitors

Midland States Bancorp (NASDAQ:MSBI) and ECB Bancorp (NASDAQ:ECBK) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, media sentiment, analyst recommendations, community ranking, earnings, valuation and risk.

Is MSBI or ECBK more profitable?

Midland States Bancorp has a net margin of 12.13% compared to ECB Bancorp's net margin of 5.11%. Midland States Bancorp's return on equity of 8.90% beat ECB Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Midland States Bancorp	12.13%	8.90%	0.78%
ECB Bancorp	5.11%	2.01%	0.25%

Does the media favor MSBI or ECBK?

In the previous week, Midland States Bancorp had 24 more articles in the media than ECB Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 35 mentions for Midland States Bancorp and 11 mentions for ECB Bancorp. Midland States Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 0.03 beat ECB Bancorp's score of -0.05 indicating that Midland States Bancorp is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Midland States Bancorp	5 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	8 Neutral mention(s)	9 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
ECB Bancorp	0 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	3 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer MSBI or ECBK?

Midland States Bancorp received 178 more outperform votes than ECB Bancorp when rated by MarketBeat users.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Midland States Bancorp	Outperform Votes 178 45.99%	Underperform Votes 209 54.01%
ECB Bancorp	N/A	N/A

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in MSBI or ECBK?

60.9% of Midland States Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 30.3% of ECB Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 5.6% of Midland States Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 6.0% of ECB Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Which has more volatility & risk, MSBI or ECBK?

Midland States Bancorp has a beta of 0.76, indicating that its share price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ECB Bancorp has a beta of 0.72, indicating that its share price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts prefer MSBI or ECBK?

Midland States Bancorp currently has a consensus target price of $23.50, indicating a potential upside of 18.63%. Given Midland States Bancorp's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Midland States Bancorp is more favorable than ECB Bancorp.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Midland States Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
ECB Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00

Which has higher earnings & valuation, MSBI or ECBK?

Midland States Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than ECB Bancorp. Midland States Bancorp 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
Midland States Bancorp	$470.89M	0.90	$75.46M	$2.31	8.58
ECB Bancorp	$55.83M	2.23	$4.46M	$0.39	35.03

Summary

Midland States Bancorp beats ECB Bancorp on 13 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.