Head to Head Review: BayFirst Financial (NASDAQ:BAFN) versus OFG Bancorp (NYSE:OFG)

OFG Bancorp (NYSE:OFG) and BayFirst Financial (NASDAQ:BAFN) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, dividends, earnings and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares OFG Bancorp and BayFirst Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
OFG Bancorp	22.68%	15.69%	1.72%
BayFirst Financial	3.38%	5.34%	0.39%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for OFG Bancorp and BayFirst Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
OFG Bancorp	0	0	4	0	3.00
BayFirst Financial	0	0	0	0	0.00

OFG Bancorp currently has a consensus target price of $50.00, suggesting a potential upside of 13.12%. Given OFG Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe OFG Bancorp is more favorable than BayFirst Financial.

Dividends

OFG Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. BayFirst Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. OFG Bancorp pays out 24.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. BayFirst Financial pays out 43.8% 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.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

92.7% of OFG Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 16.9% of BayFirst Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 3.1% of OFG Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 19.2% of BayFirst Financial shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares OFG Bancorp and BayFirst Financial”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
OFG Bancorp	$662.15 million	3.06	$181.87 million	$4.11	10.75
BayFirst Financial	$118.27 million	0.46	$5.70 million	$0.73	18.10

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

Volatility and Risk

OFG Bancorp has a beta of 1.02, meaning that its stock price is 2% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BayFirst Financial has a beta of 0.41, meaning that its stock price is 59% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

OFG Bancorp beats BayFirst Financial on 13 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About OFG Bancorp

OFG Bancorp, a financial holding company, provides a range of banking and financial services. It operates through three segments: Banking, Wealth Management, and Treasury. The company offers checking and savings accounts, and individual retirement accounts; certificate of deposits, as well as time deposit products; commercial, consumer, auto leasing, and mortgage lending services; credit cards; cash management; financial planning and insurance services; and corporate and individual trust, and retirement services. In addition, it provides securities brokerage and investment advisory services, including various investment alternatives, such as tax-advantaged fixed income securities, mutual funds, stocks, and bonds to retail and institutional clients; and separately-managed accounts and mutual fund asset allocation programs. Further, the company engages in the insurance agency and reinsurance businesses; administration and servicing of retirement plans; and various treasury-related functions with an investment portfolio consisting of mortgage-backed securities, obligations of U.S. government sponsored agencies, and U.S. Treasury securities and money market instruments. Additionally, it offers money management and investment banking services; and engages in the asset/liability management activities, such as purchases and sales of investment securities, interest rate risk management, derivatives, and borrowings. The company provides investment brokerage, transactional, international trade financing, residential mortgage, and consumer finance services. OFG Bancorp was founded in 1964 and is headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

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.