Head to Head Review: MVB Financial (NASDAQ:MVBF) and M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB)

MVB Financial (NASDAQ:MVBF) and M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, risk, earnings, profitability and valuation.

Dividends

MVB Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. M&T Bank pays an annual dividend of $5.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. MVB Financial pays out 36.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. M&T Bank pays out 36.5% 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. MVB Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Risk and Volatility

MVB Financial has a beta of 1.05, suggesting that its share price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, M&T Bank has a beta of 0.77, suggesting that its share price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for MVB Financial and M&T Bank, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
MVB Financial	0	1	2	0	2.67
M&T Bank	1	8	6	0	2.33

MVB Financial currently has a consensus target price of $25.00, suggesting a potential upside of 19.33%. M&T Bank has a consensus target price of $173.85, suggesting a potential upside of 3.85%. Given MVB Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe MVB Financial is more favorable than M&T Bank.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

52.7% of MVB Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 84.7% of M&T Bank shares are owned by institutional investors. 11.1% of MVB Financial shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of M&T Bank shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares MVB Financial and M&T Bank’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
MVB Financial	$147.71 million	1.83	$31.23 million	$1.87	11.20
M&T Bank	$9.17 billion	3.04	$2.74 billion	$14.79	11.32

M&T Bank has higher revenue and earnings than MVB Financial. MVB Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than M&T Bank, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares MVB Financial and M&T Bank’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
MVB Financial	9.28%	7.16%	0.59%
M&T Bank	17.84%	9.62%	1.14%

Summary

M&T Bank beats MVB Financial on 10 of the 16 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 M&T Bank

M&T Bank Corporation operates as a bank holding company for Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company and Wilmington Trust, National Association that engages in the provision of retail and commercial banking products and services in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Commercial Bank, Retail Bank, and Institutional Services and Wealth Management. It offers a range of credit products and banking services, such as commercial lending and leasing, letters of credits, commercial real estate loans, and credit facilities secured by various commercial real estate to middle-market and large commercial customers. The company also provides customers deposit products, including demand, savings and time accounts, and other services; automobile and recreational finance loans, home equity loans and lines of credit, credit cards, and other loan products, as well as residential mortgage and real estate loans; business loans, cash management, payroll, and direct deposit services to consumers and small businesses through branch network, telephone banking, internet banking, and automated teller machines. In addition, it offers trustee, agency, investment management, security brokerage, and administrative services; personal trust, planning, fiduciary, asset management, family office, and other services; and investment products, including mutual funds and annuities, and other services for corporations and institutions, investment bankers, corporate tax, finance and legal executives, and other institutional clients. The company was founded in 1856 and is headquartered in Buffalo, New York.