Contrasting Virginia National Bankshares (NASDAQ:VABK) and C&F Financial (NASDAQ:CFFI)

C&F Financial (NASDAQ:CFFI) and Virginia National Bankshares (NASDAQ:VABK) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and profitability.

Volatility & Risk

C&F Financial has a beta of 0.33, suggesting that its stock price is 67% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Virginia National Bankshares has a beta of 0.45, suggesting that its stock price is 55% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares C&F Financial and Virginia National Bankshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
C&F Financial	14.91%	10.72%	1.02%
Virginia National Bankshares	28.18%	13.36%	1.52%

Dividends

C&F Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Virginia National Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $1.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. C&F Financial pays out 21.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Virginia National Bankshares pays out 31.6% 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. C&F Financial has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for C&F Financial and Virginia National Bankshares, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
C&F Financial	0	0	1	0	3.00
Virginia National Bankshares	0	1	0	0	2.00

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares C&F Financial and Virginia National Bankshares”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
C&F Financial	$186.13 million	1.66	$26.83 million	$8.96	10.59
Virginia National Bankshares	$58.96 million	4.32	$19.26 million	$4.56	10.29

C&F Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Virginia National Bankshares. Virginia National Bankshares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than C&F Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

37.2% of C&F Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 37.4% of Virginia National Bankshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.4% of C&F Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 14.4% of Virginia National Bankshares shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

About C&F Financial

C&F Financial Corp. is a bank holding company, which engages in the provision of banking services to individuals and businesses. It operates through the following segments: Community Banking, Mortgage Banking and Consumer Finance. The Community Banking segment provides checking and savings deposit accounts, business, real estate, development, mortgage, home equity, and installment loans. The Mortgage Banking segment offers ancillary mortgage loan origination services for loan settlement and residential appraisals. The Consumer Finance segment consists of automobile financing through lending programs that are designed to serve customers in the non-prime market who have limited access to traditional automobile financing. The company was founded on March 8, 1994 and is headquartered in Toano, VA.

About Virginia National Bankshares

Virginia National Bankshares Corporation operates as the holding company for Virginia National Bank that provides a range of commercial and retail banking services. The company operates through Bank, Sturman Wealth Advisors, VNB Trust and Estate Services, and Masonry Capital segments. It provides checking accounts, demand deposits, NOW accounts, money market deposit accounts, time deposits, certificates of deposit, individual retirement accounts, and other depository services. In addition, the company offers commercial and industrial loans, real estate construction and land loans, commercial real estate loans, and 1-4 family residential mortgages, as well as consumer loans comprising student loans, revolving credit, and other fixed payment loans. Further, it provides automated teller machines, internet banking, treasury, and cash management services; merchant and debit card services; and wealth and investment advisory, and brokerage services. Additionally, the company offers investment management, corporate trustee, trust and estate administration, IRA administration, house investment management, and custody services. It serves individuals, businesses, and charitable organizations in the Charlottesville/Albemarle County, Fauquier County, Manassas, Prince William County, Richmond, and Winchester market areas in Virginia. Virginia National Bankshares Corporation was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Charlottesville, Virginia.