First Mid Bancshares (NASDAQ:FMBH) versus Flagstar Bank, National Association (NYSE:FLG) Critical Survey

Flagstar Bank, National Association (NYSE:FLG) and First Mid Bancshares (NASDAQ:FMBH) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability and institutional ownership.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

67.9% of Flagstar Bank, National Association shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 47.6% of First Mid Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. 21.4% of Flagstar Bank, National Association shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 6.0% of First Mid Bancshares shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for Flagstar Bank, National Association and First Mid Bancshares, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Flagstar Bank, National Association	1	3	9	0	2.62
First Mid Bancshares	0	3	3	0	2.50

Flagstar Bank, National Association currently has a consensus target price of $16.96, suggesting a potential upside of 22.48%. First Mid Bancshares has a consensus target price of $49.50, suggesting a potential downside of 2.94%. Given Flagstar Bank, National Association’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Flagstar Bank, National Association is more favorable than First Mid Bancshares.

Profitability

This table compares Flagstar Bank, National Association and First Mid Bancshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Flagstar Bank, National Association	-1.22%	-0.11%	-0.01%
First Mid Bancshares	19.76%	11.17%	1.32%

Dividends

Flagstar Bank, National Association pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.3%. First Mid Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Flagstar Bank, National Association pays out -18.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Mid Bancshares pays out 25.2% 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. First Mid Bancshares has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years. First Mid Bancshares is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Flagstar Bank, National Association and First Mid Bancshares”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Flagstar Bank, National Association	$4.81 billion	1.20	-$177.00 million	($0.22)	-62.94
First Mid Bancshares	$466.04 million	2.91	$91.75 million	$3.97	12.85

First Mid Bancshares has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Flagstar Bank, National Association. Flagstar Bank, National Association is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than First Mid Bancshares, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk and Volatility

Flagstar Bank, National Association has a beta of 1.01, indicating that its stock price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Mid Bancshares has a beta of 0.79, indicating that its stock price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

First Mid Bancshares beats Flagstar Bank, National Association on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Flagstar Bank, National Association

Flagstar Financial, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Flagstar Bank, N.A. that provides banking products and services in the United States. The company’s deposit products include interest-bearing checking and money market, savings, non-interest-bearing, and retirement accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. Its loan products comprise multi-family loans; commercial real estate loans; acquisition, development, and construction loans; commercial and industrial loans; one-to-four family loans; specialty finance loans and leases; warehouse loans; and other loans, such as home equity lines of credit, boat and recreational vehicle indirect lending, point of sale consumer loans, and other consumer loans, including overdraft loans. The company offers cash management products; non-deposit investment and insurance products; and online banking, mobile banking, and bank-by-phone services. It primarily serves individuals, small and mid-size businesses, and professional associations. The company was formerly known as New York Community Bancorp, Inc. and changed its name to Flagstar Financial, Inc. in October 2024. Flagstar Financial, Inc. was founded in 1859 and is headquartered in Hicksville, New York.

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.