Primis Financial (NASDAQ:FRST – Get Free Report) and Bank of South Carolina (NASDAQ:BKSC – Get Free Report) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, earnings and profitability.
Risk & Volatility
Primis Financial has a beta of 0.79, indicating that its stock price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bank of South Carolina has a beta of 0.49, indicating that its stock price is 51% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Dividends
Primis Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. Bank of South Carolina pays an annual dividend of $0.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.7%. Primis Financial pays out 61.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Bank of South Carolina pays out 64.2% 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.
Profitability
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Primis Financial | 7.07% | 3.85% | 0.39% |
| Bank of South Carolina | 27.44% | 14.26% | 0.91% |
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Primis Financial and Bank of South Carolina’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Primis Financial | $152.10 million | 1.62 | $17.74 million | $0.65 | 15.38 |
| Bank of South Carolina | $21.26 million | 3.06 | $6.66 million | $1.06 | 11.20 |
Primis Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Bank of South Carolina. Bank of South Carolina 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
70.5% of Primis Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 6.5% of Bank of South Carolina shares are held by institutional investors. 11.1% of Primis Financial shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 29.8% of Bank of South Carolina shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Primis Financial and Bank of South Carolina, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Primis Financial | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3.00 |
| Bank of South Carolina | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A |
Primis Financial presently has a consensus target price of $13.50, suggesting a potential upside of 35.00%. Given Primis Financial’s higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Primis Financial is more favorable than Bank of South Carolina.
Summary
Primis Financial beats Bank of South Carolina on 8 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 Bank of South Carolina
Bank of South Carolina Corporation operates as a bank holding company for The Bank of South Carolina that provides a range of financial products and services primarily in Charleston, Berkeley, and Dorchester counties of South Carolina. Its deposits include non-interest-bearing demand accounts, NOW accounts, money market accounts, time deposits, and savings accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company offers secured and unsecured commercial loans, commercial real estate construction loans, consumer construction loans, home equity lines of credit, and mortgage originations, as well as paycheck protection program loans. It operates five banking house locations. The company was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina.
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