Meridian Bank (MRBK) Competitors

Meridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK) and Capital Bancorp (NASDAQ:CBNK) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation, risk, earnings and media sentiment.

Does the media prefer MRBK or CBNK?

In the previous week, Meridian Bank had 2 more articles in the media than Capital Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 5 mentions for Meridian Bank and 3 mentions for Capital Bancorp. Meridian Bank's average media sentiment score of 0.99 beat Capital Bancorp's score of 0.92 indicating that Meridian Bank is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Meridian Bank	0 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Capital Bancorp	2 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has preferable valuation and earnings, MRBK or CBNK?

Capital Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Meridian Bank. Meridian Bank is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Capital Bancorp, 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
Meridian Bank	$197.37M	0.81	$16.35M	$1.42	9.95
Capital Bancorp	$244.71M	2.41	$30.97M	$2.48	14.26

Do analysts rate MRBK or CBNK?

Meridian Bank presently has a consensus target price of $17.00, suggesting a potential upside of 20.31%. Capital Bancorp has a consensus target price of $34.50, suggesting a potential downside of 2.43%. Given Meridian Bank's higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Meridian Bank is more favorable than Capital Bancorp.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Meridian Bank	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50
Capital Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

Which has more volatility and risk, MRBK or CBNK?

Meridian Bank has a beta of 0.67, meaning that its share price is 33% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Capital Bancorp has a beta of 0.69, meaning that its share price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is MRBK or CBNK a better dividend stock?

Meridian Bank pays an annual dividend of $0.50 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Capital Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Meridian Bank pays out 35.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Capital Bancorp pays out 16.1% 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. Capital Bancorp has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years.

Is MRBK or CBNK more profitable?

Capital Bancorp has a net margin of 14.43% compared to Meridian Bank's net margin of 8.09%. Capital Bancorp's return on equity of 15.04% beat Meridian Bank's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Meridian Bank	8.09%	9.52%	0.67%
Capital Bancorp	14.43%	15.04%	1.66%

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in MRBK or CBNK?

58.6% of Meridian Bank shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 56.1% of Capital Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 14.4% of Meridian Bank shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 31.6% of Capital Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Capital Bancorp beats Meridian Bank on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.