Reviewing Primis Financial (NASDAQ:FRST) & MVB Financial (NASDAQ:MVBF)

MVB Financial (NASDAQ:MVBF) and Primis Financial (NASDAQ:FRST) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, institutional ownership and earnings.

Dividends

MVB Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. Primis Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. MVB Financial pays out 36.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Primis Financial pays out 46.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Profitability

This table compares MVB Financial and Primis Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
MVB Financial	11.10%	8.65%	0.71%
Primis Financial	8.73%	5.90%	0.58%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

52.7% of MVB Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 75.0% of Primis Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 11.1% of MVB Financial shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 11.1% of Primis Financial shares are held 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.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares MVB Financial and Primis Financial’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
MVB Financial	$209.53 million	1.11	$31.23 million	$1.87	9.63
Primis Financial	$244.23 million	0.99	$9.94 million	$0.86	11.37

MVB Financial has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Primis Financial. MVB Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Primis Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for MVB Financial and Primis Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
MVB Financial	0	1	3	0	2.75
Primis Financial	0	0	0	0	N/A

MVB Financial currently has a consensus target price of $25.25, suggesting a potential upside of 40.28%. Given MVB Financial’s higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe MVB Financial is more favorable than Primis Financial.

Volatility and Risk

MVB Financial has a beta of 1.05, suggesting that its stock price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Primis Financial has a beta of 0.79, suggesting that its stock price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

MVB Financial beats Primis Financial on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About MVB Financial

MVB Financial Corp. operates as bank holding company for MVB Bank, Inc that provides financial services to individuals and corporate clients. The company operates through three segments: CoRe Banking, Mortgage Banking, and The Financial Holding Company. It offers various demand deposit accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit; and commercial, consumer, and real estate mortgage loans, as well as lines of credit. The company also provides debit cards; cashier's checks; safe deposit rental facilities; and non-deposit investment services, as well as financial technology (Fintech) banking services. In addition, it offers fintech solutions for the gaming, payments, banking-as-a-service, and digital asset sectors; fraud prevention services for merchants, credit agencies, Fintech companies, and other vendors; and digital products and web and mobile applications for forward-thinking community banks, credit unions, digital banks, and Fintech companies. It operates full-service branches in West Virginia and Virginia. MVB Financial Corp. was founded in 1997 and is based in Fairmont, West Virginia.

About Primis Financial

Primis Financial Corp. operates as the bank holding company for Primis Bank that provides a range of financial services to individuals and small and medium sized businesses in the United States. Its deposit products include checking, NOW, savings, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposits. The company also provides commercial business and real estate, construction, secured asset based, small business administration, mortgage warehouse lending products, as well as financing for medical, dental, and veterinary businesses; residential mortgage, trust mortgage, home equity lines of credit, secured and unsecured personal, and consumer loans, as well as life insurance premium financing and demand loans. It also offers cash management services comprising investment/sweep, zero balance, and controlled disbursement accounts; and wire transfer, employer/payroll processing, night depository, depository transfer, merchant, ACH origination, and remote deposit capture services. In addition, the company provides debit cards, ATM services, notary services, and mobile and online banking. It operates full-service branches in Virginia and Maryland. The company was formerly known as Southern National Bancorp of Virginia, Inc. and changed its name to Primis Financial Corp. Primis Financial Corp. was founded in 2004 and is based in McLean, Virginia.