Head-To-Head Analysis: Primis Financial (FRST) vs. The Competition

Primis Financial (NASDAQ:FRST) is one of 920 public companies in the “Banks” industry, but how does it compare to its peers? We will compare Primis Financial to similar companies based on the strength of its earnings, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations and risk.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

75.0% of Primis Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 47.9% of shares of all “Banks” companies are held by institutional investors. 10.9% of Primis Financial shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 9.8% of shares of all “Banks” companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Primis Financial and its peers top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Primis Financial	$277.00 million	$61.44 million	6.65
Primis Financial Competitors	$37.86 billion	$2.41 billion	19.01

Primis Financial’s peers have higher revenue and earnings than Primis Financial. Primis Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Dividends

Primis Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Primis Financial pays out 17.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Banks” companies pay a dividend yield of 9.3% and pay out 28.9% of their earnings in the form of a dividend.

Volatility & Risk

Primis Financial has a beta of 0.73, indicating that its stock price is 27% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Primis Financial’s peers have a beta of 0.60, indicating that their average stock price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Primis Financial and its peers, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Primis Financial	1	0	2	1	2.75
Primis Financial Competitors	7449	30132	27686	1447	2.35

Primis Financial currently has a consensus target price of $17.50, suggesting a potential upside of 18.08%. As a group, “Banks” companies have a potential upside of 15.63%. Given Primis Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Primis Financial is more favorable than its peers.

Profitability

This table compares Primis Financial and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Primis Financial	19.27%	5.77%	0.59%
Primis Financial Competitors	15.48%	9.50%	0.93%

Summary

Primis Financial beats its peers on 9 of the 15 factors compared.

About Primis Financial

Primis Financial Corp. operates as the bank holding company for Primis Bank that provides a range of financial services to individuals and small and medium sized businesses in the United States. Its deposit products include checking, NOW, savings, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposits. The company also provides commercial business and real estate, construction, secured asset based, small business administration, mortgage warehouse lending products, as well as financing for medical, dental, and veterinary businesses; residential mortgage, trust mortgage, home equity lines of credit, secured and unsecured personal, and consumer loans, as well as life insurance premium financing and demand loans. It also offers cash management services comprising investment/sweep, zero balance, and controlled disbursement accounts; and wire transfer, employer/payroll processing, night depository, depository transfer, merchant, ACH origination, and remote deposit capture services. In addition, the company provides debit cards, ATM services, notary services, and mobile and online banking. It operates full-service branches in Virginia and Maryland. The company was formerly known as Southern National Bancorp of Virginia, Inc. and changed its name to Primis Financial Corp. Primis Financial Corp. was founded in 2004 and is based in McLean, Virginia.