Head-To-Head Contrast: BayFirst Financial (NASDAQ:BAFN) & CB Financial Services (NASDAQ:CBFV)

BayFirst Financial (NASDAQ:BAFN) and CB Financial Services (NASDAQ:CBFV) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, earnings and profitability.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

16.9% of BayFirst Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 33.1% of CB Financial Services shares are owned by institutional investors. 56.6% of BayFirst Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 10.2% of CB Financial Services shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares BayFirst Financial and CB Financial Services’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
BayFirst Financial	-80.74%	-101.15%	-4.83%
CB Financial Services	8.52%	10.08%	1.00%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for BayFirst Financial and CB Financial Services, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
BayFirst Financial	1	0	0	0	1.00
CB Financial Services	0	2	2	0	2.50

CB Financial Services has a consensus target price of $42.50, suggesting a potential upside of 14.74%. Given CB Financial Services’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe CB Financial Services is more favorable than BayFirst Financial.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares BayFirst Financial and CB Financial Services”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
BayFirst Financial	$104.19 million	1.67	-$22.94 million	($14.88)	-0.43
CB Financial Services	$80.52 million	2.34	$4.90 million	$1.35	27.44

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

Risk & Volatility

BayFirst Financial has a beta of 0.53, meaning that its share price is 47% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CB Financial Services has a beta of 0.28, meaning that its share price is 72% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

CB Financial Services beats BayFirst Financial on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About CB Financial Services

CB Financial Services, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Community Bank that provides various banking products and services for individuals and businesses in southwestern Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio. The company's primary deposit products include demand deposits, NOW accounts, money market accounts, and savings accounts, as well as time deposit products. Its loan products comprise residential real estate loans, such as one- to four-family mortgage loans, home equity installment loans, and home equity lines of credit; commercial real estate loans that are secured primarily by improved properties, such as retail facilities, office buildings, and other non-residential buildings; construction loans to individuals to finance the construction of residential dwellings, as well as for the construction of commercial properties, including hotels, apartment buildings, housing developments, and owner-occupied properties used for businesses; commercial and industrial loans, and lines of credit; consumer loans consisting of indirect auto loans, secured and unsecured loans, and lines of credit; and other loans. In addition, the company conducts insurance agency activities by offering property and casualty, commercial liability, surety, and other insurance products. The company was founded in 1901 and is headquartered in Carmichaels, Pennsylvania.