BV Financial (NASDAQ:BVFL) & Western New England Bancorp (NASDAQ:WNEB) Financial Review

Western New England Bancorp (NASDAQ:WNEB) and BV Financial (NASDAQ:BVFL) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, risk, dividends and earnings.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

68.0% of Western New England Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 42.7% of BV Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.8% of Western New England Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 7.8% of BV Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Western New England Bancorp and BV Financial”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Western New England Bancorp	$122.74 million	1.61	$11.67 million	$0.56	16.80
BV Financial	$37.70 million	4.71	$11.72 million	$1.09	14.06

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

Risk & Volatility

Western New England Bancorp has a beta of 0.69, suggesting that its stock price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BV Financial has a beta of 0.61, suggesting that its stock price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Western New England Bancorp and BV Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Western New England Bancorp	0	2	0	1	2.67
BV Financial	0	0	0	0	0.00

Western New England Bancorp presently has a consensus target price of $8.50, suggesting a potential downside of 9.67%. Given Western New England Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Western New England Bancorp is more favorable than BV Financial.

Profitability

This table compares Western New England Bancorp and BV Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Western New England Bancorp	9.51%	4.91%	0.45%
BV Financial	23.83%	6.09%	1.40%

About Western New England Bancorp

Western New England Bancorp, Inc. operates as the holding company for Westfield Bank that provides a range of commercial and retail banking products and services to individuals and businesses. The company accepts various deposit accounts, including interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing checking, commercial checking, business, nonprofit and municipal checking, savings, money market and sweep, individual retirement, and other savings accounts; time deposits; certificates of deposit; and interest on lawyer's trust accounts. It also offers residential real estate loans, including first mortgages, home equity loans, and home equity lines, and secured by one-to-four family residential properties; commercial and industrial loans, such as letters of credit, revolving lines of credit, working capital, equipment financing, and term loans; commercial mortgage loans; construction and land development loans; home equity loans comprising home equity revolving loans and lines of credit; and consumer loans, including automobile, spa and pool, collateral, and personal lines of credit. In addition, the company provides automated teller machine (ATM), telephone and online banking, remote deposit capture, cash management, overdraft and safe deposit facility, and night deposit services. The company was formerly known as Westfield Financial, Inc. and changed its name to Western New England Bancorp, Inc. in October 2016. The company was founded in 1853 and is headquartered in Westfield, Massachusetts.

About BV Financial

BV Financial, Inc. operates as the holding company for BayVanguard Bank that provides various financial services to individuals and businesses in Maryland. The company offers checking and money market accounts, savings accounts, and certificates of deposits. Its loan products include real estate, home equity, construction, lot, auto, boat, and other personal loans; and commercial lending products, such as commercial equipment/installation, commercial real estate, construction, investment real estate, lines of credit, and SBA loans, as well as loans for short-term real estate purchase, renovation, and sale projects. The company offers ATM, overdraft, safe deposit, bill pay, remote deposit capture, ACH origination, merchant, and online banking services. BV Financial, Inc. was founded in 1873 and is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland.