Head-To-Head Review: Franklin Financial Services (NASDAQ:FRAF) versus Chain Bridge Bancorp (NYSE:CBNA)

Chain Bridge Bancorp (NYSE:CBNA) and Franklin Financial Services (NASDAQ:FRAF) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership and profitability.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Chain Bridge Bancorp and Franklin Financial Services, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Chain Bridge Bancorp	1	2	0	1	2.25
Franklin Financial Services	0	0	1	0	3.00

Chain Bridge Bancorp currently has a consensus target price of $33.00, indicating a potential downside of 4.78%. Given Chain Bridge Bancorp’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Chain Bridge Bancorp is more favorable than Franklin Financial Services.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

24.8% of Franklin Financial Services shares are held by institutional investors. 25.9% of Chain Bridge Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 6.9% of Franklin Financial Services shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Chain Bridge Bancorp and Franklin Financial Services”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Chain Bridge Bancorp	$56.65 million	4.01	$20.95 million	$2.86	12.12
Franklin Financial Services	$115.13 million	2.10	$11.10 million	$3.50	15.45

Chain Bridge Bancorp has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Franklin Financial Services. Chain Bridge Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Franklin Financial Services, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Chain Bridge Bancorp and Franklin Financial Services’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Chain Bridge Bancorp	32.83%	12.10%	1.22%
Franklin Financial Services	12.34%	10.11%	0.69%

Risk and Volatility

Chain Bridge Bancorp has a beta of 0.54, meaning that its stock price is 46% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Franklin Financial Services has a beta of -0.1, meaning that its stock price is 110% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Chain Bridge Bancorp beats Franklin Financial Services on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Chain Bridge Bancorp

Chain Bridge Bancorp, Inc. operates as a Delaware-chartered bank holding company for Chain Bridge Bank, National Association that provides commercial and personal banking, and trust services in the United States. Its deposit products include non-interest-bearing and interest-bearing checking accounts, savings accounts, and money market accounts. The company’s loan portfolio comprises of residential and commercial real estate loans, commercial loans, and consumer loans. It also provides treasury management, payments, trusts and estate administration, wealth management, and asset custody services. The company was incorporated in 2006 and is headquartered in McLean, Virginia.

About Franklin Financial Services

Franklin Financial Services Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Farmers and Merchants Trust Company of Chambersburg that provides commercial, retail banking, and trust services to businesses, individuals, governmental entities, and non-profit organizations in Pennsylvania. It offers various deposit products, including checking, savings, money management, and time deposit accounts, as well as demand deposits. The company also provides commercial real estate, construction and land development, commercial and industrial, and residential mortgage loans, as well as installment and revolving loans; consumer loans comprising unsecured personal lines of credit and installment loans; and secured and unsecured commercial and industrial loans, including accounts receivable and inventory financing, and commercial equipment financing. In addition, it offers various investment and trust services comprising estate planning and administration, corporate and personal trust fund management, pension, and profit sharing and other employee benefit funds management services, and custodial services, as well as non-trust related investment services; sells mutual funds, annuities, and insurance products; and offers safe deposit, pension, and fiduciary services. Further, the company engages in non-bank investment activities, such as venture capital investments. The company was founded in 1906 and is headquartered in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.