Head-To-Head Analysis: South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) & FB Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBLA)

South Plains Financial (NASDAQ:SPFI) and FB Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBLA) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, risk, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares South Plains Financial and FB Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
South Plains Financial	20.22%	12.58%	1.35%
FB Bancorp	1.48%	0.97%	0.26%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

55.0% of South Plains Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 24.3% of South Plains Financial shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.9% of FB Bancorp shares are held by 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.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for South Plains Financial and FB Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
South Plains Financial	0	1	5	0	2.83
FB Bancorp	1	0	0	0	1.00

South Plains Financial currently has a consensus price target of $46.25, indicating a potential upside of 16.62%. Given South Plains Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe South Plains Financial is more favorable than FB Bancorp.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares South Plains Financial and FB Bancorp”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
South Plains Financial	$296.89 million	2.56	$58.47 million	$3.57	11.11
FB Bancorp	$69.94 million	3.43	$1.25 million	$0.07	199.79

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

Summary

South Plains Financial beats FB Bancorp on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About South Plains Financial

South Plains Financial, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for City Bank that provides commercial and consumer financial services to small and medium-sized businesses and individuals. The company operates through two segments, Banking and Insurance. It offers deposit products, including demand deposit accounts, interest-bearing products, savings accounts, and certificate of deposits. The company also provides commercial real estate loans; general and specialized commercial loans, including agricultural production and real estate, energy, finance, investment, and insurance loans, as well as loans to goods, services, restaurant and retail, construction, and other industries; residential construction loans; and 1-4 family residential loans, auto loans, and other loans for recreational vehicles or other purposes. In addition, it offers crop insurance products; trust products and services; investment services; mortgage banking services; online and mobile banking services; and debit and credit cards. The company was founded in 1941 and is headquartered in Lubbock, Texas.

About FB Bancorp

FB Bancorp Inc. operates as a bank holding company for Fidelity Bank. The Company, through its subsidiaries, provides deposit accounts, mortgages, home equity and consumer loans, credit and debit cards, online and mobile banking, investments and other financial services. FB Bancorp Inc. is based in New Orleans.