Analyzing Community Financial System (NYSE:CBU) and BayFirst Financial (NASDAQ:BAFN)

BayFirst Financial (NASDAQ:BAFN) and Community Financial System (NYSE:CBU) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, risk, earnings and dividends.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

16.9% of BayFirst Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 73.8% of Community Financial System shares are held by institutional investors. 56.6% of BayFirst Financial shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of Community Financial System shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares BayFirst Financial and Community Financial System”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
BayFirst Financial	$104.19 million	2.12	-$22.94 million	($14.88)	-0.55
Community Financial System	$1.01 billion	3.27	$210.46 million	$4.31	14.57

Community Financial System has higher revenue and earnings than BayFirst Financial. BayFirst Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Community Financial System, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

BayFirst Financial has a beta of 0.53, meaning that its stock price is 47% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Community Financial System has a beta of 0.77, meaning that its stock price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares BayFirst Financial and Community Financial System’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
BayFirst Financial	-80.74%	-101.15%	-4.83%
Community Financial System	21.79%	11.47%	1.32%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for BayFirst Financial and Community Financial System, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
BayFirst Financial	1	0	0	0	1.00
Community Financial System	0	4	1	1	2.50

Community Financial System has a consensus target price of $71.50, suggesting a potential upside of 13.82%. Given Community Financial System’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Community Financial System is more favorable than BayFirst Financial.

Summary

Community Financial System beats BayFirst Financial on 14 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About BayFirst Financial

BayFirst Financial Corp. operates as the bank holding company for BayFirst National Bank that provides community banking services for businesses and individuals. The company offers checking, savings, NOW, and money market deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit and individual retirement account; and safety deposit boxes. It also provides commercial real estate mortgages; construction and development, working capital, and business loans; auto, boat, and recreational vehicle loans; and residential mortgages, personal lines of credit, and home equity lines of credit. In addition, the company offers mobile and online banking, treasury management, wire transfers, cash management, merchant processing, remote deposit capture, night depositor, online bill payment, courier, retail investment, ACH originations, and other services. It operates full-service banking centers in St. Petersburg, Seminole, Pinellas Park, Clearwater, Sarasota, Tampa, Belleair Bluffs, and Bradenton, Florida. The company was formerly known as First Home Bancorp, Inc. and changed its name to BayFirst Financial Corp. in May 2021. BayFirst Financial Corp. was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida.

About Community Financial System

Community Bank System, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Community Bank, N.A. that provides various banking and other financial services to retail, commercial, institutional, and municipal customers. It operates through three segments: Banking, Employee Benefit Services, and All Other. The company offers various deposits products, such as interest and noninterest -bearing checking, savings, and money market deposit accounts, as well as time deposits. It also provides loans, including consumer mortgages; general purpose commercial and industrial loans, and mortgages on commercial properties; paycheck protection program loans; installment loans that are originated through selected dealerships and are secured by automobiles, marine, and other recreational vehicles; personal installment loans and check credit lines of credit for consumers; and home equity products. In addition, the company offers broker-dealer and investment advisory; cash management, investment, and treasury services; asset management services; and employee benefit services, as well as operates as a full-service insurance agency that provides personal and commercial lines of insurance, and other risk management products and services. Further, it offers contribution plan administration, employee benefit trust, collective investment fund, retirement plan administration and benefit consulting, fund administration, transfer agency, actuarial and benefit consulting, and health and welfare consulting services; and act as an investor in residential and commercial real estate activities. Additionally, the company offers wealth management, retirement planning, higher educational planning, fiduciary, risk management, trust, and personal financial planning services; and investment alternatives, including stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and insurance and advisory products, as well as master recordkeeping services. Community Bank System, Inc. was founded in 1866 and is headquartered in DeWitt, New York.