Analyzing Primis Financial (NASDAQ:FRST) & Capital City Bank Group (NASDAQ:CCBG)

Primis Financial (NASDAQ:FRST) and Capital City Bank Group (NASDAQ:CCBG) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, earnings, valuation and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Primis Financial and Capital City Bank Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Primis Financial	8.73%	5.90%	0.58%
Capital City Bank Group	19.67%	11.67%	1.22%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Primis Financial and Capital City Bank Group”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Primis Financial	$150.45 million	2.00	$9.94 million	$0.86	14.15
Capital City Bank Group	$220.52 million	2.71	$52.26 million	$3.07	11.50

Capital City Bank Group has higher revenue and earnings than Primis Financial. Capital City Bank Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Primis Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk & Volatility

Primis Financial has a beta of 0.75, suggesting that its share price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Capital City Bank Group has a beta of 0.53, suggesting that its share price is 47% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

75.0% of Primis Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 44.6% of Capital City Bank Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 11.1% of Primis Financial shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 19.4% of Capital City Bank Group shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Primis Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Capital City Bank Group pays an annual dividend of $0.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Primis Financial pays out 46.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Capital City Bank Group pays out 30.0% 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.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Primis Financial and Capital City Bank Group, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Primis Financial	0	0	0	0	N/A
Capital City Bank Group	0	3	2	0	2.40

Capital City Bank Group has a consensus price target of $35.80, indicating a potential upside of 1.39%. Given Capital City Bank Group’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Capital City Bank Group is more favorable than Primis Financial.

Summary

Capital City Bank Group beats Primis Financial on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Primis Financial

Primis Financial Corp. operates as the bank holding company for Primis Bank that provides a range of financial services to individuals and small and medium sized businesses in the United States. Its deposit products include checking, NOW, savings, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposits. The company also provides commercial business and real estate, construction, secured asset based, small business administration, mortgage warehouse lending products, as well as financing for medical, dental, and veterinary businesses; residential mortgage, trust mortgage, home equity lines of credit, secured and unsecured personal, and consumer loans, as well as life insurance premium financing and demand loans. It also offers cash management services comprising investment/sweep, zero balance, and controlled disbursement accounts; and wire transfer, employer/payroll processing, night depository, depository transfer, merchant, ACH origination, and remote deposit capture services. In addition, the company provides debit cards, ATM services, notary services, and mobile and online banking. It operates full-service branches in Virginia and Maryland. The company was formerly known as Southern National Bancorp of Virginia, Inc. and changed its name to Primis Financial Corp. Primis Financial Corp. was founded in 2004 and is based in McLean, Virginia.

About Capital City Bank Group

Capital City Bank Group, Inc. operates as the financial holding company for Capital City Bank that provides a range of banking- related services to individual and corporate clients. The company offers financing for commercial business properties, equipment, inventories, and accounts receivable, as well as commercial leasing and letters of credit; treasury management services; and merchant credit card transaction processing services. It also provides commercial and residential real estate lending products, as well as fixed and adjustable-rate residential mortgage loans; personal, automobile, boat/RV, and home equity loans; and credit card programs. In addition, the company offers institutional banking services, including customized checking and savings accounts, cash management systems, tax-exempt loans, lines of credit, and term loans to meet the needs of state and local governments, public schools and colleges, charities, membership, and not-for-profit associations. Further, it provides consumer banking services comprising checking accounts, savings programs, interactive/automated teller machines, debit/credit cards, night deposit services, safe deposit facilities, and online and mobile banking services. Additionally, the company provides asset management for individuals through agency, personal trust, IRA, and personal investment management accounts; and various retail securities products, such as the U.S. government bonds, tax-free municipal bonds, stocks, mutual funds, unit investment trusts, annuities, life insurance, and long-term health care, as well as business, estate, financial, insurance and business planning, tax planning, and asset protection advisory services. Capital City Bank Group, Inc. was founded in 1895 and is headquartered in Tallahassee, Florida.