First Mid Bancshares (NASDAQ:FMBH) vs. MVB Financial (NASDAQ:MVBF) Financial Comparison

First Mid Bancshares (NASDAQ:FMBH) and MVB Financial (NASDAQ:MVBF) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, risk, institutional ownership, profitability and dividends.

Risk and Volatility

First Mid Bancshares has a beta of 0.89, suggesting that its stock price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, MVB Financial has a beta of 1.06, suggesting that its stock price is 6% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Mid Bancshares	16.75%	10.43%	1.07%
MVB Financial	9.28%	7.08%	0.60%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares First Mid Bancshares and MVB Financial”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Mid Bancshares	$306.31 million	3.03	$68.93 million	$3.10	12.55
MVB Financial	$147.71 million	1.70	$31.23 million	$1.87	10.39

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

Dividends

First Mid Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. MVB Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. First Mid Bancshares pays out 31.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. MVB Financial pays out 36.4% 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.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

47.6% of First Mid Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 52.7% of MVB Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 7.7% of First Mid Bancshares shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 11.1% of MVB Financial shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for First Mid Bancshares and MVB Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Mid Bancshares	0	0	4	0	3.00
MVB Financial	0	1	2	0	2.67

First Mid Bancshares currently has a consensus price target of $37.25, suggesting a potential downside of 4.22%. MVB Financial has a consensus price target of $25.00, suggesting a potential upside of 28.67%. Given MVB Financial’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe MVB Financial is more favorable than First Mid Bancshares.

Summary

First Mid Bancshares beats MVB Financial on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About First Mid Bancshares

First Mid Bancshares, Inc., a financial holding company, provides community banking products and services to commercial, retail, and agricultural customers in the United States. It accepts various deposit products, such as demand deposits, savings accounts, money market deposits, and time deposits. The company's loan products include commercial real estate, commercial and industrial, agricultural and agricultural real estate, residential real estate, and consumer loans, as well as construction and land development, 1-4 family residential properties, and multifamily residential properties loans; and other loans comprising loans to municipalities to support community projects, such as infrastructure improvements or equipment purchases. It also offers wealth management services, which include estate planning, investment, and farm management and brokerage services for individuals; employee benefit services for businesses; and farm management and brokerage services. In addition, the company provides property and casualty, senior insurance products, and group medical insurance for businesses; and personal lines insurance to individuals. The company was formerly known as First Mid-Illinois Bancshares, Inc. and changed its name to First Mid Bancshares, Inc. in April 2019. First Mid Bancshares, Inc. was founded in 1865 and is headquartered in Mattoon, Illinois.

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.