First Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:FCBC) & BayFirst Financial (NASDAQ:BAFN) Financial Analysis

Risk & Volatility

First Community Bancshares has a beta of 0.68, meaning that its share price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BayFirst Financial has a beta of 0.36, meaning that its share price is 64% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Community Bancshares	$185.53 million	3.71	$51.60 million	$2.73	13.76
BayFirst Financial	$79.59 million	0.47	$12.60 million	$1.73	5.20

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

35.0% of First Community Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 16.9% of BayFirst Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 3.7% of First Community Bancshares shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 18.8% of BayFirst Financial shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

First Community Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $1.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. BayFirst Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. First Community Bancshares pays out 45.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. BayFirst Financial pays out 18.5% 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. First Community Bancshares has raised its dividend for 13 consecutive years. BayFirst Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Community Bancshares	27.07%	9.68%	1.54%
BayFirst Financial	6.65%	10.14%	0.72%

Summary

First Community Bancshares beats BayFirst Financial on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About First Community Bancshares

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.

About BayFirst Financial

BayFirst Financial Corp. operates as the bank holding company for BayFirst National Bank that provides community banking services for businesses and individuals. The company offers checking, savings, NOW, and money market deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit and individual retirement account; and safety deposit boxes. It also provides commercial real estate mortgages; construction and development, working capital, and business loans; auto, boat, and recreational vehicle loans; and residential mortgages, personal lines of credit, and home equity lines of credit. In addition, the company offers mobile and online banking, treasury management, wire transfers, cash management, merchant processing, remote deposit capture, night depositor, online bill payment, courier, retail investment, ACH originations, and other services. It operates full-service banking centers in St. Petersburg, Seminole, Pinellas Park, Clearwater, Sarasota, Tampa, Belleair Bluffs, and Bradenton, Florida. The company was formerly known as First Home Bancorp, Inc. and changed its name to BayFirst Financial Corp. in May 2021. BayFirst Financial Corp. was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida.