Provident Bancorp (PVBC) Competitors

First Mid Bancshares (NASDAQ:FMBH) and Provident Bancorp (NASDAQ:PVBC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, media sentiment, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, profitability and valuation.

Which has higher valuation and earnings, FMBH or PVBC?

First Mid Bancshares has higher revenue and earnings than Provident Bancorp. First Mid Bancshares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Provident 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
First Mid Bancshares	$330.72M	2.65	$78.90M	$3.52	10.36
Provident Bancorp	$57.76M	3.86	$7.27M	$0.63	19.87

Does the media refer more to FMBH or PVBC?

In the previous week, First Mid Bancshares had 1 more articles in the media than Provident Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 4 mentions for First Mid Bancshares and 3 mentions for Provident Bancorp. First Mid Bancshares' average media sentiment score of 0.98 beat Provident Bancorp's score of 0.50 indicating that First Mid Bancshares is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
First Mid Bancshares	1 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Provident Bancorp	0 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Is FMBH or PVBC a better dividend stock?

First Mid Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Provident Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.3%. First Mid Bancshares pays out 28.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Provident Bancorp pays out 6.3% 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.

Do analysts rate FMBH or PVBC?

First Mid Bancshares currently has a consensus price target of $43.33, suggesting a potential upside of 18.85%. Provident Bancorp has a consensus price target of $12.50, suggesting a potential downside of 0.16%. Given First Mid Bancshares' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe First Mid Bancshares is more favorable than Provident Bancorp.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Mid Bancshares	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.71
Provident Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in FMBH or PVBC?

47.6% of First Mid Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 74.6% of Provident Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 7.7% of First Mid Bancshares shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.6% of Provident Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Is FMBH or PVBC more profitable?

First Mid Bancshares has a net margin of 18.32% compared to Provident Bancorp's net margin of 11.26%. First Mid Bancshares' return on equity of 10.09% beat Provident Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Mid Bancshares	18.32%	10.09%	1.15%
Provident Bancorp	11.26%	4.56%	0.67%

Which has more volatility & risk, FMBH or PVBC?

First Mid Bancshares has a beta of 0.89, suggesting that its share price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Provident Bancorp has a beta of 0.33, suggesting that its share price is 67% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

First Mid Bancshares beats Provident Bancorp on 15 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.