Analyzing FB Financial (NYSE:FBK) and Benchmark Bankshares (OTCMKTS:BMBN)

Benchmark Bankshares (OTCMKTS:BMBN) and FB Financial (NYSE:FBK) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Benchmark Bankshares and FB Financial”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Benchmark Bankshares	$62.25 million	1.86	$15.38 million	N/A	N/A
FB Financial	$441.62 million	5.44	$120.22 million	$2.29	22.48

FB Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Benchmark Bankshares.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

3.2% of Benchmark Bankshares shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 65.4% of FB Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 14.0% of Benchmark Bankshares shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.7% of FB Financial shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

Benchmark Bankshares has a beta of 0.3, indicating that its stock price is 70% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, FB Financial has a beta of 1.15, indicating that its stock price is 15% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Benchmark Bankshares and FB Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Benchmark Bankshares	N/A	N/A	N/A
FB Financial	14.40%	10.38%	1.23%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Benchmark Bankshares and FB Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Benchmark Bankshares	0	0	0	0	0.00
FB Financial	1	3	1	0	2.00

FB Financial has a consensus price target of $50.20, suggesting a potential downside of 2.49%. Given FB Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe FB Financial is more favorable than Benchmark Bankshares.

Dividends

Benchmark Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $0.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. FB Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. FB Financial pays out 29.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Summary

FB Financial beats Benchmark Bankshares on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Benchmark Bankshares

Benchmark Bankshares, Inc. operates as the holding company for Benchmark Community Bank that provides various banking products and services in the United States. The company accepts various deposits, such as checking, saving, commercial services, and youth accounts. Its loan products include personal, mortgage, other real estate, business, auto, and student loans. The company also offers credit and debit cards; wealth management services comprising financial solutions, financial and retirement planning, and portfolio management, as well as estate, charitable giving, and trust services; and reorder checks, safe deposit boxes, wire transfers, bill pay, and internet and mobile banking services. The company was founded in 1971 and is based in Kenbridge, Virginia.

About FB Financial

FB Financial Corporation operates as a bank holding company for FirstBank that provides a suite of commercial and consumer banking services to businesses, professionals, and individuals. The company operates in segments, such as Banking and Mortgage. It offers checking, demand, money market, and savings accounts; deposit and lending products and services to corporate, commercial, and consumer customers; and time deposits and certificates of deposits, as well as residential mortgage loans. The company also provides owner-occupied and non-owner-occupied real estate commercial, residential real estate 1-4 family mortgage, multi-family residential, commercial and industrial, construction, land acquisition, residential lines of credit, and land development loans; and consumer and other loans, such as car, boat, and other recreational vehicle loans, as well as manufactured homes without real estate and personal lines of credit. In addition, the company offers mortgage banking services through its bank branch network and mortgage banking offices in the southeastern United States; direct-to-consumer internet delivery channel; and trust, insurance, and investment services, as well as online and mobile banking services. The company operates full-service bank branches and limited-service branches locations throughout Tennessee, Nashville, Chattanooga, Knoxville, Memphis, Jackson, Birmingham, Florence, Huntsville, Alabama, Bowling Green, and Kentucky; and mortgage offices throughout the southeastern United States. The company was formerly known as First South Bancorp, Inc. and changed its name to FB Financial Corporation in 2016. FB Financial Corporation was founded in 1906 and is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee.