BV Financial (NASDAQ:BVFL) vs. Carter Bankshares (NASDAQ:CARE) Head-To-Head Review

BV Financial (NASDAQ:BVFL) and Carter Bankshares (NASDAQ:CARE) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

42.7% of BV Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 41.5% of Carter Bankshares shares are held by institutional investors. 15.7% of BV Financial shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.9% of Carter Bankshares shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares BV Financial and Carter Bankshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
BV Financial	23.73%	8.94%	1.87%
Carter Bankshares	33.60%	7.93%	0.68%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for BV Financial and Carter Bankshares, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
BV Financial	0	1	0	0	2.00
Carter Bankshares	0	1	3	1	3.00

Carter Bankshares has a consensus target price of $27.50, indicating a potential upside of 9.13%. Given Carter Bankshares’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Carter Bankshares is more favorable than BV Financial.

Volatility and Risk

BV Financial has a beta of 0.4, suggesting that its share price is 60% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Carter Bankshares has a beta of 0.44, suggesting that its share price is 56% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares BV Financial and Carter Bankshares”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
BV Financial	$52.43 million	3.28	$13.49 million	$1.39	14.13
Carter Bankshares	$218.89 million	2.55	$31.00 million	$4.87	5.17

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

Summary

Carter Bankshares beats BV Financial on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About BV Financial

BV Financial, Inc. operates as the holding company for BayVanguard Bank that provides various financial services to individuals and businesses in Maryland. The company offers checking and money market accounts, savings accounts, and certificates of deposits. Its loan products include real estate, home equity, construction, lot, auto, boat, and other personal loans; and commercial lending products, such as commercial equipment/installation, commercial real estate, construction, investment real estate, lines of credit, and SBA loans, as well as loans for short-term real estate purchase, renovation, and sale projects. The company offers ATM, overdraft, safe deposit, bill pay, remote deposit capture, ACH origination, merchant, and online banking services. BV Financial, Inc. was founded in 1873 and is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland.

About Carter Bankshares

Carter Bankshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Carter Bank & Trust that provides various banking products and services in the United States. It accepts various deposit products, including checking, savings, retirement, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposits. The company also offers commercial loans comprising secured and unsecured loans; consumer loans, such as secured and unsecured loans for financing automobiles, home improvements, education, overdraft protection, and personal investments, as well as residential mortgages; real estate construction, acquisition, commercial, and industrial loans; home equity lines of credit; and credit cards, as well as originates and holds fixed and variable rate mortgage loans. In addition, it provides other banking services that include safe deposit boxes, direct deposit of payroll, and social security checks; online banking products, including online and mobile banking, online account opening, bill pay, e-statement, mobile deposit, digital wallet, and ATM services; title insurance and other financial institution-related products and services; and treasury and corporate cash management services. Carter Bankshares, Inc. was founded in 1974 and is headquartered in Martinsville, Virginia.