Head to Head Analysis: Eagle Bancorp Montana (NASDAQ:EBMT) vs. MetroCity Bankshares (NASDAQ:MCBS)

Eagle Bancorp Montana (NASDAQ:EBMT) and MetroCity Bankshares (NASDAQ:MCBS) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and risk.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Eagle Bancorp Montana and MetroCity Bankshares”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Eagle Bancorp Montana	$121.99 million	1.02	$9.78 million	$1.41	11.01
MetroCity Bankshares	$235.98 million	2.89	$64.50 million	$2.57	10.46

MetroCity Bankshares has higher revenue and earnings than Eagle Bancorp Montana. MetroCity Bankshares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Eagle Bancorp Montana, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Eagle Bancorp Montana and MetroCity Bankshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Eagle Bancorp Montana	9.03%	6.35%	0.53%
MetroCity Bankshares	28.03%	15.91%	1.83%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Eagle Bancorp Montana and MetroCity Bankshares, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Eagle Bancorp Montana	0	1	0	0	2.00
MetroCity Bankshares	0	1	0	0	2.00

Eagle Bancorp Montana currently has a consensus target price of $13.50, suggesting a potential downside of 13.02%. MetroCity Bankshares has a consensus target price of $34.00, suggesting a potential upside of 26.49%. Given MetroCity Bankshares’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe MetroCity Bankshares is more favorable than Eagle Bancorp Montana.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

35.7% of Eagle Bancorp Montana shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 25.3% of MetroCity Bankshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.1% of Eagle Bancorp Montana shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 27.5% of MetroCity Bankshares shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Eagle Bancorp Montana pays an annual dividend of $0.57 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. MetroCity Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $0.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Eagle Bancorp Montana pays out 40.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. MetroCity Bankshares pays out 35.8% 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. Eagle Bancorp Montana has increased its dividend for 14 consecutive years. Eagle Bancorp Montana is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Risk and Volatility

Eagle Bancorp Montana has a beta of 0.36, suggesting that its share price is 64% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, MetroCity Bankshares has a beta of 0.63, suggesting that its share price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

MetroCity Bankshares beats Eagle Bancorp Montana on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Eagle Bancorp Montana

Eagle Bancorp Montana, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Opportunity Bank of Montana that provides various retail banking products and services to small businesses and individuals in Montana. It accepts various deposit products, such as checking, savings, money market, and individual retirement accounts, as well as certificates of deposit accounts. The company also provides 1-4 family residential mortgage loans, such as residential mortgages and construction of residential properties; commercial real estate loans, including multi-family dwellings, nonresidential property, commercial construction and development, and farmland loans; and second mortgage/home equity loans. In addition, it offers consumer loans, such as loans secured by collateral other than real estate, such as automobiles, recreational vehicles, and boats; personal loans and lines of credit; commercial business loans consisting of business loans and lines of credit on a secured and unsecured basis; construction loans; agricultural loans; and mortgage loan services. The company operates full-service branches and automated teller machines. Eagle Bancorp Montana, Inc. was founded in 1922 and is headquartered in Helena, Montana.

About MetroCity Bankshares

MetroCity Bankshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Metro City Bank that engages in the provision of banking products and services in the United States. It offers customary banking services, such as consumer and commercial checking accounts, savings, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company also provides commercial and consumer loans, including single family residential loans; construction and development, and owner and non-owner occupied commercial real estate loans; letters of credit; and commercial and industrial loans, residential mortgage loans, and SBA loans. In addition, it offers online banking services, which include access to account balances, online transfers, online bill payment, and electronic delivery of customer statements; mobile banking solutions, such as remote check deposit with mobile bill pay; and automated teller machines and telephone banking services. Further, it provides debit cards for checking customers, direct deposits, and cashier's checks; treasury management services, including wire transfer, automated clearing house, and stop payments services; and cash management deposit products, such as remote deposit capture, positive pay, zero balance accounts, and sweep accounts. The company was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.