Comparing Mvb Financial (NASDAQ:MVBF) and First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF)

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

52.7% of Mvb Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 72.6% of First Commonwealth Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 9.9% of Mvb Financial shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.9% of First Commonwealth Financial shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Mvb Financial and First Commonwealth Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Mvb Financial	0	2	4	0	2.67
First Commonwealth Financial	0	3	3	0	2.50

Mvb Financial currently has a consensus price target of $31.25, indicating a potential upside of 12.57%. First Commonwealth Financial has a consensus price target of $20.33, indicating a potential upside of 3.19%. Given Mvb Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Mvb Financial is more favorable than First Commonwealth Financial.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Mvb Financial	13.98%	2.54%	0.25%
First Commonwealth Financial	21.19%	10.56%	1.32%

Volatility & Risk

Mvb Financial has a beta of 0.82, suggesting that its share price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Commonwealth Financial has a beta of 0.75, suggesting that its share price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Mvb Financial and First Commonwealth Financial”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Mvb Financial	$200.74 million	1.78	$26.94 million	$2.18	12.73
First Commonwealth Financial	$729.51 million	2.75	$152.30 million	$1.51	13.05

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

Dividends

Mvb Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. First Commonwealth Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Mvb Financial pays out 31.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Commonwealth Financial pays out 37.1% 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. First Commonwealth Financial has raised its dividend for 9 consecutive years. First Commonwealth Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

First Commonwealth Financial beats Mvb Financial on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About First Commonwealth Financial

First Commonwealth Financial Corporation, a financial holding company, provides various consumer and commercial banking services in the United States. Its consumer services include personal checking accounts, interest-earning checking accounts, savings and health savings accounts, insured money market accounts, debit cards, investment certificates, fixed and variable rate certificates of deposit, mortgage loans, secured and unsecured installment loans, construction and real estate loans, safe deposit facilities, credit cards, credit lines with overdraft checking protection, IRA accounts, and automated teller machine (atm) services, as well as internet, mobile, and telephone banking services. The company's commercial banking services comprise commercial lending, business checking accounts, online account management services, payroll direct deposits, commercial cash management services, and repurchase agreements, as well as ACH origination services. In addition, it offers various trust and asset management services; auto, home, and business insurance, as well as term life insurance; and annuities, mutual funds, and stock and bond brokerage services through a broker-dealer and insurance brokers. The company was founded in 1934 and is headquartered in Indiana, Pennsylvania.