Reviewing MVB Financial (NASDAQ:MVBF) and Atlantic Union Bankshares (NASDAQ:AUB)

MVB Financial (NASDAQ:MVBF) and Atlantic Union Bankshares (NASDAQ:AUB) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares MVB Financial and Atlantic Union Bankshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
MVB Financial	8.49%	6.29%	0.55%
Atlantic Union Bankshares	16.25%	8.85%	1.09%

Volatility and Risk

MVB Financial has a beta of 1.05, meaning that its stock price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Atlantic Union Bankshares has a beta of 0.89, meaning that its stock price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

52.7% of MVB Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 78.6% of Atlantic Union Bankshares shares are held by institutional investors. 11.1% of MVB Financial shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.9% of Atlantic Union Bankshares shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for MVB Financial and Atlantic Union Bankshares, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
MVB Financial	0	1	2	0	2.67
Atlantic Union Bankshares	0	1	4	0	2.80

MVB Financial currently has a consensus target price of $25.00, indicating a potential upside of 14.84%. Atlantic Union Bankshares has a consensus target price of $40.40, indicating a potential downside of 5.14%. Given MVB Financial’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe MVB Financial is more favorable than Atlantic Union Bankshares.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares MVB Financial and Atlantic Union Bankshares”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
MVB Financial	$209.53 million	1.34	$31.23 million	$1.42	15.33
Atlantic Union Bankshares	$1.05 billion	3.66	$201.82 million	$2.41	17.67

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

Dividends

MVB Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Atlantic Union Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $1.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. MVB Financial pays out 47.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Atlantic Union Bankshares pays out 56.4% 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. Atlantic Union Bankshares has increased its dividend for 14 consecutive years. Atlantic Union Bankshares is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Atlantic Union Bankshares beats MVB Financial on 13 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About MVB Financial

MVB Financial Corp. operates as bank holding company for MVB Bank, Inc that provides financial services to individuals and corporate clients. The company operates through three segments: CoRe Banking, Mortgage Banking, and The Financial Holding Company. It offers various demand deposit accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit; and commercial, consumer, and real estate mortgage loans, as well as lines of credit. The company also provides debit cards; cashier's checks; safe deposit rental facilities; and non-deposit investment services, as well as financial technology (Fintech) banking services. In addition, it offers fintech solutions for the gaming, payments, banking-as-a-service, and digital asset sectors; fraud prevention services for merchants, credit agencies, Fintech companies, and other vendors; and digital products and web and mobile applications for forward-thinking community banks, credit unions, digital banks, and Fintech companies. It operates full-service branches in West Virginia and Virginia. MVB Financial Corp. was founded in 1997 and is based in Fairmont, West Virginia.

About Atlantic Union Bankshares

Atlantic Union Bankshares Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Atlantic Union Bank that provides banking and related financial products and services to consumers and businesses in the United States. It operates in two segments, Wholesale Banking and Consumer Banking. The company accepts various deposit products, including checking, savings, time deposit, and money market accounts; certificates of deposit; and other depository services. It also provides loans for commercial, industrial, residential mortgage, and consumer purposes, as well as debit and credit cards. In addition, it provides treasury management and capital market, wealth management, private banking, trust, financial and retirement planning, brokerage, investment management, equipment finance, mortgage banking, and insurance products and services. The company offers products and services through full-service branches and ATMs, as well as through its mobile and internet banking. The company was formerly known as Union Bankshares Corporation and changed its name to Atlantic Union Bankshares Corporation in May 2019. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corporation was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Glen Allen, Virginia.