Financial Comparison: Malaga Financial (OTCMKTS:MLGF) vs. Bridgewater Bancshares (NASDAQ:BWB)

Malaga Financial (OTCMKTS:MLGF) and Bridgewater Bancshares (NASDAQ:BWB) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Malaga Financial and Bridgewater Bancshares’ gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Malaga Financial	N/A	N/A	$22.98 million	$2.59	8.64
Bridgewater Bancshares	$106.81 million	3.39	$39.96 million	$1.13	11.69

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

Profitability

This table compares Malaga Financial and Bridgewater Bancshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Malaga Financial	N/A	N/A	N/A
Bridgewater Bancshares	14.27%	9.61%	0.74%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Malaga Financial and Bridgewater Bancshares, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Malaga Financial	0	0	0	0	N/A
Bridgewater Bancshares	0	0	3	0	3.00

Bridgewater Bancshares has a consensus target price of $17.00, suggesting a potential upside of 28.69%. Given Bridgewater Bancshares’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Bridgewater Bancshares is more favorable than Malaga Financial.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

1.1% of Malaga Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 65.8% of Bridgewater Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 23.2% of Bridgewater Bancshares shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

Malaga Financial has a beta of 0.49, meaning that its share price is 51% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bridgewater Bancshares has a beta of 0.69, meaning that its share price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Bridgewater Bancshares beats Malaga Financial on 11 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Malaga Financial

Malaga Financial Corporation operates as the holding company for Malaga Bank that provides various community banking products and services to personal and business customers. It offers checking, savings, NOW, and money market accounts, certificates of deposits, business banking, consumer, and demand deposits. The company also provides commercial real estate, single and multi-family residential mortgage, consumer, 14-unit investment property, construction, personal, and business loans; home equity lines of credit; and certificates of deposit. In addition, it offers coupon redemption, direct deposit, overdraft lines of credit, telephone transfers, U.S. savings bond redemption, and wire transfer services; and ATM and VISA debit cards, bank by mail, medallion signature guarantee, night depository, notary, safe deposit boxes, and trust deed note collection services. Further, the company provides online banking services, including bill payer, e-statements, and mobile banking services. The company was incorporated in 2002 and is headquartered in Palos Verdes Estates, California.

About Bridgewater Bancshares

Bridgewater Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Bridgewater Bank that provides banking products and services to commercial real estate investors, entrepreneurs, business clients, and individuals in the United States. The company provides savings and money market accounts, demand deposits, time and brokered deposits, and interest and noninterest bearing transaction, as well as certificates of deposit. It offers commercial loans to sole proprietorships, partnerships, corporations, and other business enterprises to finance working capital, capital investment, or for other business related purposes; paycheck protection program loans; construction and land development loans; 1-4 family mortgage loans; multifamily lending products; owner and non-owner occupied commercial real estate loans; and consumer and other loans. In addition, the company online, mobile, and direct banking services. Bridgewater Bancshares, Inc. was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Saint Louis Park, Minnesota.