Head-To-Head Analysis: Isabella Bank (NASDAQ:ISBA) & CoastalSouth Bancshares (NYSE:COSO)

CoastalSouth Bancshares (NYSE:COSO) and Isabella Bank (NASDAQ:ISBA) are both small-cap financial services companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings and dividends.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for CoastalSouth Bancshares and Isabella Bank, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
CoastalSouth Bancshares	0	1	2	0	2.67
Isabella Bank	0	2	1	0	2.33

CoastalSouth Bancshares presently has a consensus target price of $29.00, indicating a potential upside of 14.17%. Isabella Bank has a consensus target price of $38.50, indicating a potential downside of 27.29%. Given CoastalSouth Bancshares’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe CoastalSouth Bancshares is more favorable than Isabella Bank.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares CoastalSouth Bancshares and Isabella Bank”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
CoastalSouth Bancshares	$135.78 million	2.24	$24.89 million	$1.69	15.03
Isabella Bank	$112.00 million	3.47	$18.91 million	$2.56	20.68

CoastalSouth Bancshares has higher revenue and earnings than Isabella Bank. CoastalSouth Bancshares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Isabella Bank, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares CoastalSouth Bancshares and Isabella Bank’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
CoastalSouth Bancshares	N/A	N/A	N/A
Isabella Bank	16.88%	8.27%	0.84%

Summary

Isabella Bank beats CoastalSouth Bancshares on 6 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About CoastalSouth Bancshares

CoastalSouth Bancshares, Inc. is a bank holding company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Through our wholly owned subsidiary, Coastal States Bank, a South Carolina state-chartered commercial bank, we offer a full range of banking products and services designed for businesses, real estate professionals, and consumers looking for a deep and meaningful relationship with their bank. Today, we have a community banking presence in some of the fastest growing and most business-friendly markets in the U.S., namely the Lowcountry of South Carolina (Hilton Head Island, Bluffton, and Beaufort), nearby Savannah, Georgia, and the Atlanta, Georgia market. — In addition to our traditional community banking operations, we operate four specialty lines of business that provide scalability and diversification: • Senior Housing Lending – focuses on lending to operators across the spectrum of senior care, with an emphasis on assisted living; • Marine Lending – focuses on consumer loans primarily to high-net-worth borrowers secured by yachts and high-end sport fishing vessels; • Government Guaranteed Lending – focuses on origination of small business and other loans guaranteed by the SBA and USDA; and • Mortgage Banker Finance – focuses on mortgage warehouse lending to mortgage originators. By combining the relationship-based focus of a community bank with our specialty lines of business, we believe we can capitalize on the substantial growth opportunities available in our markets, particularly given the scarcity of community banks between $1.5 billion and $5.0 billion in total assets. Our principal executive offices are located in Atlanta, Georgia.

About Isabella Bank

Isabella Bank Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Isabella Bank that provides various banking products and services to businesses, institutions, and individuals and their families. Its deposit products include checking accounts, savings accounts, certificates of deposit, direct deposits, and money market accounts. The company’s loan portfolio comprises commercial, agricultural, and residential real estate loans, as well as consumer loans, including secured and unsecured personal loans. It also offers cash management, mobile and internet banking, electronic bill pay, automated teller machines, trust and investment, estate planning, and safe deposit box rental services; and group life, health, accident, disability, and other insurance products, as well as other employee benefit programs. As of December 31, 2021, the company operated 30 banking offices in Clare, Gratiot, Isabella, Mecosta, Midland, Montcalm, and Saginaw counties. Isabella Bank Corporation was founded in 1903 and is headquartered in Mount Pleasant, Michigan.