Blue Ridge Bankshares (NASDAQ:BRBS) & First Community Bankshares (NASDAQ:FCBC) Critical Comparison

Blue Ridge Bankshares (NASDAQ:BRBS) and First Community Bankshares (NASDAQ:FCBC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends and valuation.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

50.5% of Blue Ridge Bankshares shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 35.0% of First Community Bankshares shares are held by institutional investors. 4.9% of Blue Ridge Bankshares shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.7% of First Community Bankshares 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.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Blue Ridge Bankshares and First Community Bankshares, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Blue Ridge Bankshares	0	0	0	0	0.00
First Community Bankshares	0	1	0	0	2.00

First Community Bankshares has a consensus target price of $38.00, suggesting a potential downside of 5.52%. Given First Community Bankshares’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe First Community Bankshares is more favorable than Blue Ridge Bankshares.

Profitability

This table compares Blue Ridge Bankshares and First Community Bankshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Blue Ridge Bankshares	-8.84%	-5.48%	-0.52%
First Community Bankshares	27.81%	10.35%	1.64%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Blue Ridge Bankshares and First Community Bankshares”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Blue Ridge Bankshares	$173.89 million	1.51	-$15.39 million	($0.64)	-5.56
First Community Bankshares	$185.53 million	3.96	$51.60 million	$2.84	14.16

First Community Bankshares has higher revenue and earnings than Blue Ridge Bankshares. Blue Ridge Bankshares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than First Community Bankshares, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

Blue Ridge Bankshares has a beta of 0.83, indicating that its stock price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Community Bankshares has a beta of 0.57, indicating that its stock price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

First Community Bankshares beats Blue Ridge Bankshares on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Blue Ridge Bankshares

Blue Ridge Bankshares, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for the Blue Ridge Bank, National Association that provides commercial and consumer banking, and financial services. It operates through: Commercial Banking and Mortgage Banking segments. The company accepts checking, savings, money market, cash management, and individual retirement accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. It also offers commercial and industrial, residential mortgages, commercial mortgages, home equity, consumer installment, and guaranteed government loans; and residential mortgage loans and mortgages loans on real estate. In addition, it provides wire, direct deposit payroll, remote deposit, electronic statement, and other services; and property and casualty insurance products to individuals and businesses, as well as online, mobile, and telephone banking services. Further, the company offers employee benefit plans and administration services; management services for personal and corporate trusts, including estate planning and settlement, and trust administration, investment and wealth management services. It operates in Callao, Charlottesville, Chester, Colonial Heights, Culpeper, Fredericksburg, Gordonsville, Harrisonburg, Hartfield, Henrico, Kilmarnock, Louisa, Luray, Martinsville, Midlothian, Mineral, Montross, Orange, Petersburg, Richmond, Shenandoah, Suffolk, Virginia Beach, Warsaw, and White Stone, Virginia; and Greensboro, North Carolina. The company was founded in 1893 and is headquartered in Charlottesville, Virginia.

About First Community Bankshares

First Community Bankshares, Inc. operates as the financial holding company for First Community Bank that provides various banking products and services. It offers demand deposit accounts, savings and money market accounts, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement plans; and commercial, consumer real estate, and consumer and other loans. The company also provides trust management, estate administration, and investment advisory services; and investment management services. It serves individuals and businesses across various industries, such as education, government, and health services; coal mining and gas extraction; retail trade; construction; manufacturing; tourism; and transportation. The company operates through branches in West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee. Community Bankshares, Inc. was founded in 1874 and is headquartered in Bluefield, Virginia.