Bay Banks of Virginia (OTCMKTS:BAYK) and Renasant (NASDAQ:RNST) Critical Contrast

Bay Banks of Virginia (OTCMKTS:BAYK) and Renasant (NASDAQ:RNST) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, risk, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Bay Banks of Virginia and Renasant”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Bay Banks of Virginia	$55.38 million	2.27	$7.06 million	N/A	N/A
Renasant	$771.83 million	4.52	$195.46 million	$2.54	14.44

Renasant has higher revenue and earnings than Bay Banks of Virginia.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

77.3% of Renasant shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.6% of Bay Banks of Virginia shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.8% of Renasant shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Bay Banks of Virginia and Renasant, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Bay Banks of Virginia	0	0	0	0	0.00
Renasant	0	2	3	1	2.83

Renasant has a consensus price target of $41.67, suggesting a potential upside of 13.60%. Given Renasant’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Renasant is more favorable than Bay Banks of Virginia.

Profitability

This table compares Bay Banks of Virginia and Renasant’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Bay Banks of Virginia	N/A	N/A	N/A
Renasant	17.91%	6.58%	0.93%

Summary

Renasant beats Bay Banks of Virginia on 11 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Bay Banks of Virginia

Bay Banks of Virginia, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides various banking products and services to businesses, professionals, and consumers in Virginia. The company accepts checking accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, cash management accounts, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts. Its loan products include commercial and industrial loans, such as small business loans, asset based loans, and other secured and unsecured loans and lines of credit; purchased loans; residential and commercial mortgages; home equity loans; consumer installment loans; and consumer loans comprising automobile and boat financing, home improvement loans, and unsecured personal loans. The company also provides credit cards; and insurance, online banking, telephone banking, mobile banking, analysis checking, cash management deposit, wire, direct deposit payroll, lockbox, positive pay, and remote deposit services, as well as a line of commercial lending options. In addition, it offers management services, including estate planning and settlement, as well as trust administration, investment, and wealth management services; and revocable and irrevocable living trusts, testamentary trusts, custodial accounts, investment planning, brokerage services, investment managed accounts, and managed and self-directed rollover individual retirement accounts for personal and corporate trusts. As of March 9, 2020, the company operated 17 banking offices located throughout greater Richmond region, the Northern Neck region, Middlesex County, and the Hampton Roads region. Bay Banks of Virginia, Inc. was founded in 1930 and is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia.

About Renasant

Renasant Corporation operates as a bank holding company for Renasant Bank that provides a range of financial, wealth management, fiduciary, and insurance services to retail and commercial customers. The company operates through Community Banks, Insurance, and Wealth Management segments. The Community Banks segment offers checking and savings accounts, business and personal loans, asset-based lending, and factoring equipment leasing services, as well as safe deposit and night depository facilities. It also provides commercial, financial, and agricultural loans; equipment financing and leasing; real estate1-4 family mortgage; real estatecommercial mortgage; real estateconstruction loans for the construction of single family residential properties, multi-family properties, and commercial projects; installment loans to individuals; and interim construction loans, as well as automated teller machine (ATM), online and mobile banking, call center, and treasury management services. The Insurance segment provides insurance agency services, such as commercial and personal insurance products through insurance carriers. The Wealth Management segment offers a range of wealth management and fiduciary services, including administration and management of trust accounts, such as personal and corporate benefit accounts, and custodial accounts, as well as accounting and money management for trust accounts; annuities, mutual funds, and other investment services through a third party broker-dealer; administrative and compliance services; and qualified retirement plans, IRAs, employee benefit plans, personal trusts, and estates. Renasant Corporation was founded in 1904 and is headquartered in Tupelo, Mississippi.