Contrasting Magic Empire Global (NASDAQ:MEGL) and Burke & Herbert Financial Services (NASDAQ:BHRB)

Burke & Herbert Financial Services (NASDAQ:BHRB) and Magic Empire Global (NASDAQ:MEGL) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings and valuation.

Risk & Volatility

Burke & Herbert Financial Services has a beta of 1.02, meaning that its stock price is 2% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Magic Empire Global has a beta of 2.79, meaning that its stock price is 179% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Burke & Herbert Financial Services and Magic Empire Global, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Burke & Herbert Financial Services	0	2	2	1	2.80
Magic Empire Global	1	0	0	0	1.00

Burke & Herbert Financial Services currently has a consensus target price of $71.50, suggesting a potential upside of 4.48%. Given Burke & Herbert Financial Services’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Burke & Herbert Financial Services is more favorable than Magic Empire Global.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Burke & Herbert Financial Services and Magic Empire Global”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Burke & Herbert Financial Services	$491.11 million	2.09	$117.32 million	$7.72	8.86
Magic Empire Global	$10.18 million	0.38	-$610,000.00	N/A	N/A

Burke & Herbert Financial Services has higher revenue and earnings than Magic Empire Global.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

0.5% of Magic Empire Global shares are held by institutional investors. 10.9% of Burke & Herbert Financial Services shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 63.0% of Magic Empire Global shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Burke & Herbert Financial Services and Magic Empire Global’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Burke & Herbert Financial Services	23.89%	15.11%	1.48%
Magic Empire Global	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

Burke & Herbert Financial Services beats Magic Empire Global on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Burke & Herbert Financial Services

Burke Herbert Financial Services Corp. is a bank holding company, which engages in the provision of banking products and financial services to small to medium-sized businesses, their owners and employees, professional corporations, non-profits, and individuals. It operates through the following loan portfolio segments: Commercial Real Estate, Owner-Occupied Commercial Real Estate, Acquisition, Construction, and Development, Commercial and Industrial, Single Family Residential (1-4 Units), and Consumer Non-Real Estate and Other. The Commercial Real Estate segment includes leasing of the real estate collateral or income generated from the sale of the collateral. The Owner-Occupied Commercial Real Estate segment focuses on the operations of the business that occupies the property and the value of the collateral. The Acquisition, Construction, and Development segment offers creditworthiness of the borrower, project completion within budget, sale after completion, and the value of the collateral. The Commercial and Industrial segment is involved in the operations of the business and the value of the collateral. The Single Family Residential (1-4 Units) segment provides loans for investment purpose carry risk associated with the continued creditworthiness of the borrower, the value of the collateral, and either the net operating income generated from the lease of the real estate collateral or income generated from the sale of the collateral. The Consumer Non-Real Estate and Other segment covers loans carry risk associated with the creditworthiness of the borrower and the value of the collateral. The company was founded on September 14, 2022 and is headquartered in Alexandria, VA.

About Magic Empire Global

Magic Empire Global Limited engages in the provision of corporate finance advisory services and underwriting services in Hong Kong. The company provides initial public offering sponsorship, financial and independent financial advisory, post-listing compliance advisory, and underwriting services by acting as global coordinator, bookrunner, lead manager, or underwriter. It also offers corporate services, which include accounting and financial reporting advisory, company secretarial services, internal control enhancement, investor relations advisory, and other consulting services. The company was incorporated in 2016 and is headquartered in Central, Hong Kong.