Head to Head Analysis: Powell Max (NASDAQ:PMAX) versus Primis Financial (NASDAQ:FRST)

Primis Financial (NASDAQ:FRST) and Powell Max (NASDAQ:PMAX) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability and valuation.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

75.0% of Primis Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 11.0% of Primis Financial 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.

Volatility & Risk

Primis Financial has a beta of 0.77, suggesting that its share price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Powell Max has a beta of 1.17, suggesting that its share price is 17% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Primis Financial and Powell Max, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Primis Financial	0	2	1	0	2.33
Powell Max	1	0	0	0	1.00

Primis Financial presently has a consensus target price of $1.00, suggesting a potential downside of 92.83%. Given Primis Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Primis Financial is more favorable than Powell Max.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Primis Financial and Powell Max”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Primis Financial	$277.00 million	1.24	$61.44 million	$1.93	7.22
Powell Max	$4.69 million	0.95	-$2.33 million	N/A	N/A

Primis Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Powell Max.

Profitability

This table compares Primis Financial and Powell Max’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Primis Financial	18.78%	4.11%	0.40%
Powell Max	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

Primis Financial beats Powell Max on 11 of the 12 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 Powell Max

Powell Max Limited is a financial communications services provider. Powell Max Limited is based in JERSEY CITY, N.J.