BayFirst Financial (NASDAQ:BAFN – Get Free Report) and Prime Meridian (OTCMKTS:PMHG – 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 analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, valuation, risk, profitability and institutional ownership.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for BayFirst Financial and Prime Meridian, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| BayFirst Financial | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.00 |
| Prime Meridian | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
Risk and Volatility
BayFirst Financial has a beta of 0.39, meaning that its stock price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Prime Meridian has a beta of 0.06, meaning that its stock price is 94% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Earnings & Valuation
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| BayFirst Financial | $143.28 million | 0.19 | $12.60 million | ($3.11) | -2.17 |
| Prime Meridian | $50.36 million | 3.81 | $8.49 million | $2.48 | 22.74 |
BayFirst Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Prime Meridian. BayFirst Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Prime Meridian, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares BayFirst Financial and Prime Meridian’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| BayFirst Financial | -8.08% | -12.02% | -0.81% |
| Prime Meridian | 15.49% | 9.27% | 0.87% |
Institutional and Insider Ownership
16.9% of BayFirst Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 11.8% of Prime Meridian shares are held by institutional investors. 18.8% of BayFirst Financial shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 25.9% of Prime Meridian shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Summary
Prime Meridian beats BayFirst Financial on 7 of the 12 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 Prime Meridian
Prime Meridian Holding Company operates as the bank holding company for Prime Meridian Bank that provides various consumer and commercial banking services to individuals and businesses. The company accepts various deposits, such as checking, money market, savings, term certificate of deposit, demand interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing, health savings, NOW, and escrow accounts, as well as retirement savings plans and time deposits. Its loan products include commercial real estate, residential real estate and home equity, small business administration, construction, equipment, and commercial loans; and consumer and other loans comprising financing of automobiles, boats, and recreational vehicles, as well as issues standby letters and business lines of credit. The company also offers debit and credit cards; mobile banking, remote and mobile deposit, Apple Pay, bank-to-bank transfer, and online banking services; and safe deposit, wire transfer, foreign exchange, direct deposits, notary, night depository, official checks, domestic collections, bank drafts, automated teller services, drive-in tellers, merchant card, and banking by mail services, as well as invests in securities. Prime Meridian Holding Company was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Tallahassee, Florida.
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