Blue Ridge Bankshares (BRBS) Competitors

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) and Blue Ridge Bankshares (NASDAQ:BRBS) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, media sentiment, risk, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, community ranking, earnings, valuation and profitability.

Does the media refer more to FBMS or BRBS?

In the previous week, Blue Ridge Bankshares had 1 more articles in the media than First Bancshares. MarketBeat recorded 1 mentions for Blue Ridge Bankshares and 0 mentions for First Bancshares. Blue Ridge Bankshares' average media sentiment score of 1.67 beat First Bancshares' score of 0.71 indicating that Blue Ridge Bankshares is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
First Bancshares	Positive
Blue Ridge Bankshares	Very Positive

Is FBMS or BRBS more profitable?

First Bancshares has a net margin of 18.40% compared to Blue Ridge Bankshares' net margin of -8.84%. First Bancshares' return on equity of 8.29% beat Blue Ridge Bankshares' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Bancshares	18.40%	8.29%	1.02%
Blue Ridge Bankshares	-8.84%	-5.48%	-0.52%

Do analysts rate FBMS or BRBS?

First Bancshares presently has a consensus price target of $38.75, suggesting a potential upside of 14.81%. Given First Bancshares' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe First Bancshares is more favorable than Blue Ridge Bankshares.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Bancshares	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33
Blue Ridge Bankshares	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00

Which has stronger earnings and valuation, FBMS or BRBS?

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

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Bancshares	$276.99M	3.81	$77.19M	$2.44	13.83
Blue Ridge Bankshares	$92.23M	3.31	-$15.39M	-$0.50	-6.96

Is FBMS or BRBS a better dividend stock?

First Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Blue Ridge Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $0.49 per share and has a dividend yield of 14.1%. First Bancshares pays out 41.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Blue Ridge Bankshares pays out -98.0% 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. Blue Ridge Bankshares has increased its dividend for 10 consecutive years. Blue Ridge Bankshares is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has more volatility & risk, FBMS or BRBS?

First Bancshares has a beta of 0.92, indicating that its stock price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Blue Ridge Bankshares has a beta of 0.82, indicating that its stock price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer FBMS or BRBS?

First Bancshares received 231 more outperform votes than Blue Ridge Bankshares when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 51.89% of users gave First Bancshares an outperform vote while only 25.00% of users gave Blue Ridge Bankshares an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
First Bancshares	Outperform Votes 233 51.89%	Underperform Votes 216 48.11%
Blue Ridge Bankshares	Outperform Votes 2 25.00%	Underperform Votes 6 75.00%

Do insiders & institutionals believe in FBMS or BRBS?

69.9% of First Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 50.5% of Blue Ridge Bankshares shares are held by institutional investors. 3.5% of First Bancshares shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.9% of Blue Ridge Bankshares shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

First Bancshares beats Blue Ridge Bankshares on 15 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.