Analyzing Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) and MVB Financial (NASDAQ:MVBF)

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) and MVB Financial (NASDAQ:MVBF) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Banner and MVB Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Banner	0	3	3	0	2.50
MVB Financial	0	1	2	0	2.67

Banner currently has a consensus price target of $67.00, suggesting a potential upside of 0.34%. MVB Financial has a consensus price target of $25.33, suggesting a potential upside of 22.38%. Given MVB Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe MVB Financial is more favorable than Banner.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

87.3% of Banner shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 52.7% of MVB Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 1.6% of Banner shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 11.1% of MVB Financial shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk & Volatility

Banner has a beta of 1.07, indicating that its share price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, MVB Financial has a beta of 1.08, indicating that its share price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Banner and MVB Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Banner	20.28%	10.22%	1.10%
MVB Financial	8.49%	6.29%	0.55%

Dividends

Banner pays an annual dividend of $1.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. MVB Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Banner pays out 40.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. MVB Financial pays out 47.9% 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.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Banner and MVB Financial”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Banner	$594.20 million	3.87	$183.62 million	$4.78	13.97
MVB Financial	$143.80 million	1.86	$31.23 million	$1.42	14.58

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

Summary

Banner beats MVB Financial on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Banner

Banner Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Banner Bank that engages in the provision of commercial banking and financial products and services to individuals, businesses, and public sector entities in the United States. It accepts various deposit instruments, including interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing checking accounts, money market deposit accounts, regular savings accounts, and certificates of deposit, as well as treasury management services and retirement savings plans. The company also provides commercial real estate loans, including owner-occupied, investment properties, and multifamily residential real estate loans; construction, land, and land development loans; one- to four-family residential real estate lending; commercial business loans; agricultural loans; consumer and other loans, such as home equity lines of credit, automobile, and boat and recreational vehicle loans, as well as loans secured by deposit accounts; and small business administration loans. In addition, it provides electronic and digital banking services comprising debit cards and ATMs, internet banking, remote deposit, and mobile banking services. The company was founded in 1890 and is based in Walla Walla, Washington.

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.