Reviewing MetroCity Bankshares (NASDAQ:MCBS) & Byline Bancorp (NYSE:BY)

Byline Bancorp (NYSE:BY) and MetroCity Bankshares (NASDAQ:MCBS) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, profitability, institutional ownership and earnings.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Byline Bancorp and MetroCity Bankshares, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Byline Bancorp	0	2	2	0	2.50
MetroCity Bankshares	0	1	0	0	2.00

Byline Bancorp currently has a consensus price target of $30.88, suggesting a potential downside of 2.33%. MetroCity Bankshares has a consensus price target of $36.00, suggesting a potential upside of 3.57%. Given MetroCity Bankshares’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe MetroCity Bankshares is more favorable than Byline Bancorp.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

67.7% of Byline Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 25.3% of MetroCity Bankshares shares are held by institutional investors. 30.1% of Byline Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 27.5% of MetroCity Bankshares shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Byline Bancorp has a beta of 1.15, meaning that its stock price is 15% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, MetroCity Bankshares has a beta of 0.64, meaning that its stock price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Byline Bancorp and MetroCity Bankshares”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Byline Bancorp	$535.79 million	2.62	$107.88 million	$2.75	11.49
MetroCity Bankshares	$135.01 million	6.52	$51.61 million	$2.32	14.98

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

Profitability

This table compares Byline Bancorp and MetroCity Bankshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Byline Bancorp	19.39%	11.90%	1.32%
MetroCity Bankshares	25.54%	14.97%	1.66%

Dividends

Byline Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. MetroCity Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $0.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Byline Bancorp pays out 13.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. MetroCity Bankshares pays out 39.7% 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.

Summary

Byline Bancorp beats MetroCity Bankshares on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Byline Bancorp

Byline Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Byline Bank that provides various banking products and services for small and medium sized businesses, commercial real estate and financial sponsors, and consumers in the United States. It offers various retail deposit products, including non-interest-bearing accounts, money market demand accounts, savings accounts, interest-bearing checking accounts, and time deposits; ATM and debit cards; and online, mobile, and text banking services, as well as commercial deposits. The company also provides term loans, revolving lines of credit, and construction financing services; senior secured financing solutions to private equity backed lower middle market companies; small business administration and united states department of agriculture loans; and treasury management products and services. In addition, it offers financing solutions for equipment vendors and their end users; syndication services; and investment, trust, and wealth management services that include fiduciary and executor services, financial planning solutions, investment advisory services, and private banking services for foundations and endowments, and high net worth individuals. The company was formerly known as Metropolitan Bank Group, Inc. and changed its name to Byline Bancorp, Inc. in 2015. Byline Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1914 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

About MetroCity Bankshares

MetroCity Bankshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Metro City Bank that engages in the provision of banking products and services in the United States. It offers customary banking services, such as consumer and commercial checking accounts, savings, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company also provides commercial and consumer loans, including single family residential loans; construction and development, and owner and non-owner occupied commercial real estate loans; letters of credit; and commercial and industrial loans, residential mortgage loans, and SBA loans. In addition, it offers online banking services, which include access to account balances, online transfers, online bill payment, and electronic delivery of customer statements; mobile banking solutions, such as remote check deposit with mobile bill pay; and automated teller machines and telephone banking services. Further, it provides debit cards for checking customers, direct deposits, and cashier's checks; treasury management services, including wire transfer, automated clearing house, and stop payments services; and cash management deposit products, such as remote deposit capture, positive pay, zero balance accounts, and sweep accounts. The company was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.