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

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for FB Financial and Benchmark Bankshares, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

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

FB Financial currently has a consensus price target of $50.20, suggesting a potential downside of 8.91%. Given FB Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe FB Financial is more favorable than Benchmark Bankshares.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

65.4% of FB Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 3.2% of Benchmark Bankshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.7% of FB Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 14.0% of Benchmark Bankshares shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

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

Profitability

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

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

Valuation and Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
FB Financial	$748.95 million	3.43	$120.22 million	$2.29	24.07
Benchmark Bankshares	$62.25 million	1.73	$15.38 million	N/A	N/A

FB Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Benchmark Bankshares.

Dividends

FB Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Benchmark Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $0.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. 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 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.

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.