Financial Contrast: Emergent Capital (OTCMKTS:EMGCQ) & Primis Financial (NASDAQ:FRST)

Emergent Capital (OTCMKTS:EMGCQ) and Primis Financial (NASDAQ:FRST) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Emergent Capital and Primis Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Emergent Capital	N/A	N/A	N/A
Primis Financial	18.78%	4.11%	0.40%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

75.0% of Primis Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 48.9% of Emergent Capital shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 11.0% of Primis Financial shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Emergent Capital and Primis Financial”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Emergent Capital	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Primis Financial	$277.00 million	1.22	$61.44 million	$1.93	7.13

Primis Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Emergent Capital.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Emergent Capital and Primis Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Emergent Capital	0	0	0	0	0.00
Primis Financial	0	2	1	0	2.33

Primis Financial has a consensus price target of $1.00, suggesting a potential downside of 92.73%. Given Primis Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Primis Financial is more favorable than Emergent Capital.

Summary

Primis Financial beats Emergent Capital on 8 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Emergent Capital

Emergent Capital, Inc., a specialty finance company, invests in life settlements. As of August 31, 2020, it owned a portfolio of 500 life insurance policies. The company was formerly known as Imperial Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to Emergent Capital, Inc. in September 2015. The company was founded in 2006 and is based in Boca Raton, Florida. On October 15, 2020, Emergent Capital, Inc., along with its affiliate, filed a voluntary petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

About Primis Financial

Primis Financial Corp. operates as the bank holding company for Primis Bank that provides a range of financial services to individuals and small and medium sized businesses in the United States. Its deposit products include checking, NOW, savings, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposits. The company also provides commercial business and real estate, construction, secured asset based, small business administration, mortgage warehouse lending products, as well as financing for medical, dental, and veterinary businesses; residential mortgage, trust mortgage, home equity lines of credit, secured and unsecured personal, and consumer loans, as well as life insurance premium financing and demand loans. It also offers cash management services comprising investment/sweep, zero balance, and controlled disbursement accounts; and wire transfer, employer/payroll processing, night depository, depository transfer, merchant, ACH origination, and remote deposit capture services. In addition, the company provides debit cards, ATM services, notary services, and mobile and online banking. It operates full-service branches in Virginia and Maryland. The company was formerly known as Southern National Bancorp of Virginia, Inc. and changed its name to Primis Financial Corp. Primis Financial Corp. was founded in 2004 and is based in McLean, Virginia.