Financial Review: First Mid Bancshares (NASDAQ:FMBH) & Banc of California (NYSE:BANC)

First Mid Bancshares (NASDAQ:FMBH) and Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, dividends, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation and risk.

Profitability

This table compares First Mid Bancshares and Banc of California’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Mid Bancshares	19.76%	10.86%	1.29%
Banc of California	-1.44%	7.98%	0.69%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

47.6% of First Mid Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.9% of Banc of California shares are held by institutional investors. 6.0% of First Mid Bancshares shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.8% of Banc of California shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

First Mid Bancshares has a beta of 0.78, indicating that its share price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Banc of California has a beta of 0.73, indicating that its share price is 27% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

First Mid Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $1.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Banc of California pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. First Mid Bancshares pays out 25.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Banc of California pays out -114.3% 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. First Mid Bancshares has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years. Banc of California is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for First Mid Bancshares and Banc of California, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Mid Bancshares	0	3	3	0	2.50
Banc of California	0	3	6	2	2.91

First Mid Bancshares presently has a consensus target price of $54.62, indicating a potential upside of 9.95%. Banc of California has a consensus target price of $21.00, indicating a potential upside of 14.50%. Given Banc of California’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Banc of California is more favorable than First Mid Bancshares.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares First Mid Bancshares and Banc of California”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Mid Bancshares	$466.04 million	2.84	$91.75 million	$4.03	12.33
Banc of California	$863.35 million	3.37	$228.97 million	($0.42)	-43.67

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

Summary

Banc of California beats First Mid Bancshares on 10 of the 18 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 Banc of California

Banc of California, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Banc of California that provides various banking products and services in California. The company offers deposit products, such as checking, savings, money market, demand, and time deposits; certificates of deposit; retirement accounts; and safe deposit boxes. It also provides real estate loans to professional developers and real estate investors for the acquisition, construction, refinancing, renovation, and on-going operation of commercial real estate properties; commercial real estate mortgage, residential real estate mortgage, and real estate construction and land loans; commercial loans and leases, such as equipment finance, other asset-based, venture capital, secured business, warehouse, and other lending services; small business administration loans; and consumer loans comprising personal, auto, and other loans, as well as home equity and revolving lines of credit. In addition, the company offers international banking, multi-state deposit, and asset and investment management services, as well as cash and treasury management services; and online, mobile, remote deposit, and telephone banking services. It serves small and middle-market businesses, venture capital firms, non-profit organizations, business owners, entrepreneurs, professionals, and high-net worth individuals. Banc of California, Inc. was founded in 1941 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.