Analyzing Mvb Financial (NASDAQ:MVBF) and Bridgewater Bancshares (NASDAQ:BWB)

Bridgewater Bancshares (NASDAQ:BWB) and Mvb Financial (NASDAQ:MVBF) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, profitability, dividends, valuation and institutional ownership.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for Bridgewater Bancshares and Mvb Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Bridgewater Bancshares	0	3	2	0	2.40
Mvb Financial	1	0	6	0	2.71

Bridgewater Bancshares currently has a consensus target price of $20.33, suggesting a potential upside of 10.54%. Mvb Financial has a consensus target price of $31.50, suggesting a potential upside of 13.31%. Given Mvb Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Mvb Financial is more favorable than Bridgewater Bancshares.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Bridgewater Bancshares and Mvb Financial”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Bridgewater Bancshares	$132.46 million	3.83	$32.83 million	$1.33	13.83
Mvb Financial	$133.41 million	2.62	$20.09 million	$2.46	11.30

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

65.8% of Bridgewater Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 52.7% of Mvb Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 23.3% of Bridgewater Bancshares shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 11.7% of Mvb Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk and Volatility

Bridgewater Bancshares has a beta of 0.65, indicating that its stock price is 35% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Mvb Financial has a beta of 0.95, indicating that its stock price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Bridgewater Bancshares and Mvb Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Bridgewater Bancshares	14.52%	10.27%	0.80%
Mvb Financial	15.34%	3.81%	0.38%

About Bridgewater Bancshares

Bridgewater Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Bridgewater Bank that provides banking products and services to commercial real estate investors, entrepreneurs, business clients, and individuals in the United States. The company provides savings and money market accounts, demand deposits, time and brokered deposits, and interest and noninterest bearing transaction, as well as certificates of deposit. It offers commercial loans to sole proprietorships, partnerships, corporations, and other business enterprises to finance working capital, capital investment, or for other business related purposes; paycheck protection program loans; construction and land development loans; 1-4 family mortgage loans; multifamily lending products; owner and non-owner occupied commercial real estate loans; and consumer and other loans. In addition, the company online, mobile, and direct banking services. Bridgewater Bancshares, Inc. was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Saint Louis Park, Minnesota.

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.