Head to Head Comparison: Avidia Bancorp (NYSE:AVBC) and Southside Bancshares (NYSE:SBSI)

Southside Bancshares (NYSE:SBSI) and Avidia Bancorp (NYSE:AVBC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares Southside Bancshares and Avidia Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Southside Bancshares	16.70%	11.16%	1.11%
Avidia Bancorp	11.51%	4.62%	0.63%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Southside Bancshares and Avidia Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Southside Bancshares	0	6	0	0	2.00
Avidia Bancorp	1	1	1	0	2.00

Southside Bancshares presently has a consensus target price of $34.75, suggesting a potential upside of 12.38%. Avidia Bancorp has a consensus target price of $26.00, suggesting a potential upside of 17.44%. Given Avidia Bancorp’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Avidia Bancorp is more favorable than Southside Bancshares.

Risk and Volatility

Southside Bancshares has a beta of 0.61, meaning that its stock price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Avidia Bancorp has a beta of -0.44, meaning that its stock price is 144% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

55.7% of Southside Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.1% of Southside Bancshares shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.4% of Avidia Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Southside Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $1.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.8%. Avidia Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Southside Bancshares pays out 58.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Avidia Bancorp pays out 25.3% 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. Southside Bancshares has increased its dividend for 30 consecutive years. Southside Bancshares is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Southside Bancshares and Avidia Bancorp”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Southside Bancshares	$419.03 million	2.20	$69.18 million	$2.54	12.17
Avidia Bancorp	$147.61 million	3.00	-$3.29 million	$0.95	23.30

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

Summary

Southside Bancshares beats Avidia Bancorp on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Southside Bancshares

Southside Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Southside Bank that provides a range of financial services to individuals, businesses, municipal entities, and nonprofit organizations. Its deposit products include savings, money market, and interest and noninterest bearing checking accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company’s loan portfolio comprises consumer loans that include 1-4 family residential loans, home equity loans, home improvement loans, automobile loans, and other consumer related loans; commercial loans, such as short-term working capital loans for inventory and accounts receivable, short and medium-term loans for equipment or other business capital expansion, commercial real estate loans, and municipal loans; and construction loans for 1-4 family residential and commercial real estate. It also offers wealth management and trust services consisting of investment management, administration, revocable and testamentary trusts, and custodian services for individuals, partnerships, and corporations; safe deposit services; and brokerage services. As of December 31, 2021, the company operated through 56 banking facilities and 73 ATMs/ITMs. Southside Bancshares, Inc. was founded in 1960 and is headquartered in Tyler, Texas.

About Avidia Bancorp

Avidia Bancorp Inc. is a chartered stock savings bank. It operates full-service banking offices principally in western Middlesex County and eastern Worcester County, in Massachusetts. Avidia Bancorp Inc. is based in HUDSON, Mass.