Head-To-Head Analysis: Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) and Chesapeake Financial Shares (OTCMKTS:CPKF)

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) and Chesapeake Financial Shares (OTCMKTS:CPKF) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, risk and earnings.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Southern First Bancshares and Chesapeake Financial Shares”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Southern First Bancshares	$224.62 million	2.37	$30.37 million	$4.28	13.15
Chesapeake Financial Shares	$102.27 million	1.60	$10.00 million	$4.22	8.23

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

Profitability

This table compares Southern First Bancshares and Chesapeake Financial Shares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Southern First Bancshares	15.21%	9.65%	0.79%
Chesapeake Financial Shares	17.24%	15.88%	1.20%

Volatility and Risk

Southern First Bancshares has a beta of 0.68, indicating that its share price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Chesapeake Financial Shares has a beta of 0.25, indicating that its share price is 75% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for Southern First Bancshares and Chesapeake Financial Shares, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Southern First Bancshares	0	1	2	0	2.67
Chesapeake Financial Shares	0	0	0	0	0.00

Southern First Bancshares presently has a consensus price target of $64.00, indicating a potential upside of 13.68%. Given Southern First Bancshares’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Southern First Bancshares is more favorable than Chesapeake Financial Shares.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

75.0% of Southern First Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 3.7% of Chesapeake Financial Shares shares are held by institutional investors. 6.9% of Southern First Bancshares shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 39.5% of Chesapeake Financial Shares shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Southern First Bancshares beats Chesapeake Financial Shares on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Southern First Bancshares

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Southern First Bank that provides commercial, consumer, and mortgage loans to the general public in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia. The company accepts various deposit products that include checking accounts, commercial checking accounts, and savings accounts, as well as other time deposits, including daily money market accounts and long-term certificates of deposit. Its loan portfolio comprises commercial real estate loans; construction real estate loans; commercial business loans for various lines of businesses, such as the manufacturing, service industry, and professional service areas; consumer real estate and home equity loans; and other consumer loans, including secured and unsecured installment loans and revolving lines of credit. In addition, the company provides other bank services, such as internet banking, cash management, safe deposit boxes, direct deposit, automatic drafts, bill payment, and mobile banking services. Southern First Bancshares, Inc. was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina.

About Chesapeake Financial Shares

Chesapeake Financial Shares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Chesapeake Bank that provides various banking products and services for individuals and businesses in the United States. The company accepts interest and noninterest checking, savings, and money market accounts; and variable-rate and fixed-term money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. It also offers mortgage, and single-family residential and residential construction loans; commercial loans, which include owner-occupied commercial development, retail, builders/contractors, medical, service and professional, hospitality, nonprofits, marine industry, and agricultural and seafood loans; and consumer and other loans. In addition, the company provides merchant processing, accounts receivable financing, wealth management and trust, and mortgage banking services, as well as cash management services. The company was founded in 1900 and is based in Kilmarnock, Virginia.