Analyzing RBB Bancorp (NASDAQ:RBB) and Primis Financial (NASDAQ:FRST)

Primis Financial (NASDAQ:FRST) and RBB Bancorp (NASDAQ:RBB) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, dividends, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Risk and Volatility

Primis Financial has a beta of 0.78, suggesting that its share price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, RBB Bancorp has a beta of 0.95, suggesting that its share price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Primis Financial and RBB Bancorp’s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Primis Financial	$244.23 million	1.07	$9.94 million	$0.86	12.26
RBB Bancorp	$236.17 million	1.44	$42.47 million	$2.28	8.06

RBB Bancorp has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Primis Financial. RBB Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Primis Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

75.0% of Primis Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 40.1% of RBB Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 11.1% of Primis Financial shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 6.6% of RBB Bancorp shares are held by 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.

Dividends

Primis Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. RBB Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Primis Financial pays out 46.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. RBB Bancorp pays out 28.1% 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. RBB Bancorp has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Primis Financial and RBB Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Primis Financial	0	0	0	0	N/A
RBB Bancorp	0	4	0	0	2.00

RBB Bancorp has a consensus price target of $18.50, indicating a potential upside of 0.65%. Given RBB Bancorp’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe RBB Bancorp is more favorable than Primis Financial.

Profitability

This table compares Primis Financial and RBB Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Primis Financial	8.73%	5.90%	0.58%
RBB Bancorp	17.69%	7.71%	0.97%

Summary

RBB Bancorp beats Primis Financial on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About RBB Bancorp

RBB Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for Royal Business Bank that provides various banking products and services to the Chinese-American, Korean-American, and other Asian-American communities. Its deposit products include checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company also offers commercial and industrial lines of credit, term loans, mortgage warehouse lines, and international trade discounts; commercial real estate loans; residential, commercial, and land acquisition and development construction loans; small business administration loans; and single-family residential mortgage loans. In addition, it provides international letters of credit, SWIFT, export advisory, trade finance discount, and foreign exchange services; and remote deposit, e-banking, and mobile banking services. The company serves individuals, businesses, municipalities, and other entities. It operates branches in the Western region with branches in Los Angeles County, California; Orange County, California; Ventura County, California; Clark County, Nevada; Honolulu, Hawaii, as well as in Eastern region with branches in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, New York; Chicago, Illinois; and Edison, New Jersey. RBB Bancorp was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.