Comparing First Mid Bancshares (NASDAQ:FMBH) & West Shore Bank (OTCMKTS:WSSH)

First Mid Bancshares (NASDAQ:FMBH) and West Shore Bank (OTCMKTS:WSSH) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, dividends, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

47.6% of First Mid Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.7% of First Mid Bancshares shares are owned by company 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.

Dividends

First Mid Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. West Shore Bank pays an annual dividend of $0.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. First Mid Bancshares pays out 28.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Mid Bancshares has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years.

Profitability

This table compares First Mid Bancshares and West Shore Bank’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Mid Bancshares	17.75%	9.90%	1.11%
West Shore Bank	N/A	N/A	N/A

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares First Mid Bancshares and West Shore Bank”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Mid Bancshares	$453.67 million	2.06	$78.90 million	$3.36	11.57
West Shore Bank	$36.87 million	0.94	$4.41 million	N/A	N/A

First Mid Bancshares has higher revenue and earnings than West Shore Bank.

Risk and Volatility

First Mid Bancshares has a beta of 0.87, indicating that its stock price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, West Shore Bank has a beta of -0.05, indicating that its stock price is 105% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for First Mid Bancshares and West Shore Bank, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Mid Bancshares	0	2	4	0	2.67
West Shore Bank	0	0	0	0	0.00

First Mid Bancshares currently has a consensus price target of $43.83, suggesting a potential upside of 12.74%. Given First Mid Bancshares’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe First Mid Bancshares is more favorable than West Shore Bank.

Summary

First Mid Bancshares beats West Shore Bank on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About First Mid Bancshares

First Mid Bancshares, Inc., a financial holding company, provides community banking products and services to commercial, retail, and agricultural customers in the United States. It accepts various deposit products, such as demand deposits, savings accounts, money market deposits, and time deposits. The company’s loan products include commercial real estate, commercial and industrial, agricultural and agricultural real estate, residential real estate, and consumer loans, as well as construction and land development, 1-4 family residential properties, and multifamily residential properties loans; and other loans comprising loans to municipalities to support community projects, such as infrastructure improvements or equipment purchases. It also offers wealth management services, which include estate planning, investment, and farm management and brokerage services for individuals; employee benefit services for businesses; and farm management and brokerage services. In addition, the company provides property and casualty, senior insurance products, and group medical insurance for businesses; and personal lines insurance to individuals. The company was formerly known as First Mid-Illinois Bancshares, Inc. and changed its name to First Mid Bancshares, Inc. in April 2019. First Mid Bancshares, Inc. was founded in 1865 and is headquartered in Mattoon, Illinois.

About West Shore Bank

West Shore Bank Corp. operates as the bank holding company for West Shore Bank that provides various banking products and services for individuals and businesses. The company accepts checking, saving, money market, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts. Its loan products include auto, recreational, personal term, commercial real estate, small business administration, municipal, business term, and home mortgage and equity loans; business lines of credit; and letters of credit. The company also offers ATM/debit, credit, and gift and travel cards; wealth planning process, investment management, trusts and estates, retirement planning, west shore investment services; savings bonds; and direct deposit, overdraft, safe deposit boxes, wire transfer, remote deposit capture, merchant card, ACH and wire, sweep accounts, positive pay, bill pay, and online and mobile banking services. The company was founded in 1898 and is based in Ludington, Michigan.