First Mid Bancshares (NASDAQ:FMBH) & Bridgewater Bancshares (NASDAQ:BWB) Head-To-Head Analysis

First Mid Bancshares (NASDAQ:FMBH) and Bridgewater Bancshares (NASDAQ:BWB) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends and profitability.

Volatility & Risk

First Mid Bancshares has a beta of 0.91, suggesting that its share price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bridgewater Bancshares has a beta of 0.58, suggesting that its share price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares First Mid Bancshares and Bridgewater Bancshares”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Mid Bancshares	$453.67 million	2.14	$78.90 million	$3.52	11.49
Bridgewater Bancshares	$123.36 million	3.65	$32.83 million	$1.22	13.43

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

47.6% of First Mid Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 65.8% of Bridgewater Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.2% of First Mid Bancshares shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 23.3% of Bridgewater Bancshares shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares First Mid Bancshares and Bridgewater Bancshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Mid Bancshares	18.32%	10.09%	1.15%
Bridgewater Bancshares	14.03%	9.73%	0.77%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for First Mid Bancshares and Bridgewater Bancshares, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Mid Bancshares	0	2	4	0	2.67
Bridgewater Bancshares	0	0	2	0	3.00

First Mid Bancshares currently has a consensus target price of $43.33, indicating a potential upside of 7.15%. Bridgewater Bancshares has a consensus target price of $20.00, indicating a potential upside of 22.10%. Given Bridgewater Bancshares’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Bridgewater Bancshares is more favorable than First Mid Bancshares.

Summary

First Mid Bancshares beats Bridgewater Bancshares on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Bridgewater Bancshares

Bridgewater Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Bridgewater Bank that provides banking products and services to commercial real estate investors, entrepreneurs, business clients, and individuals in the United States. The company provides savings and money market accounts, demand deposits, time and brokered deposits, and interest and noninterest bearing transaction, as well as certificates of deposit. It offers commercial loans to sole proprietorships, partnerships, corporations, and other business enterprises to finance working capital, capital investment, or for other business related purposes; paycheck protection program loans; construction and land development loans; 1-4 family mortgage loans; multifamily lending products; owner and non-owner occupied commercial real estate loans; and consumer and other loans. In addition, the company online, mobile, and direct banking services. Bridgewater Bancshares, Inc. was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Saint Louis Park, Minnesota.