Primis Financial (NASDAQ:FRST – Get Free Report) and Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB – Get Free Report) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, dividends and institutional ownership.
Profitability
This table compares Primis Financial and Metropolitan Bank’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Primis Financial | -2.97% | -2.05% | -0.20% |
| Metropolitan Bank | 13.55% | 10.89% | 1.02% |
Volatility and Risk
Primis Financial has a beta of 0.78, suggesting that its share price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Metropolitan Bank has a beta of 1.18, suggesting that its share price is 18% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Valuation & Earnings
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Primis Financial | $147.43 million | 1.76 | -$7.54 million | ($0.30) | -34.93 |
| Metropolitan Bank | $276.91 million | 2.49 | $66.69 million | $5.92 | 10.38 |
Metropolitan Bank has higher revenue and earnings than Primis Financial. Primis Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Metropolitan Bank, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
75.0% of Primis Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.8% of Metropolitan Bank shares are owned by institutional investors. 10.9% of Primis Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.5% of Metropolitan Bank shares are owned 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 Ratings
This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Primis Financial and Metropolitan Bank, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Primis Financial | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.00 |
| Metropolitan Bank | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3.00 |
Primis Financial presently has a consensus price target of $14.00, suggesting a potential upside of 33.59%. Metropolitan Bank has a consensus price target of $78.13, suggesting a potential upside of 27.11%. Given Primis Financial’s higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Primis Financial is more favorable than Metropolitan Bank.
Summary
Metropolitan Bank beats Primis Financial on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.
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.
About Metropolitan Bank
Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. operates as the bank holding company for Metropolitan Commercial Bank that provides a range of business, commercial, and retail banking products and services to small businesses, middle-market enterprises, public entities, and individuals in the New York metropolitan area. The company offers checking, savings, term deposit, money market, demand deposit, and other interest-bearing transaction accounts. It also provides lending products, including commercial real estate, multi-family, construction, and one-to four-family real estate loans; commercial and industrial loans; consumer loans; acquisition and renovation loans; loans to refinance or return borrower equity; loans on owner-occupied properties; working capital lines of credit; trade finance and letters of credit; and term loans. In addition, the company offers cash management services, as well as online and mobile banking, ACH, remote deposit capture, and debit cards. The company was formerly known as Metbank Holding Corp. and changed its name to Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. in January 2007. Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. was incorporated in 1997 and is headquartered in New York, New York.
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