Financial Survey: Madison County Financial (OTCMKTS:MCBK) vs. BayFirst Financial (NASDAQ:BAFN)

Madison County Financial (OTCMKTS:MCBK) and BayFirst Financial (NASDAQ:BAFN) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, earnings, dividends, valuation, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

16.9% of BayFirst Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 16.9% of Madison County Financial shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 18.8% of BayFirst Financial shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Madison County Financial and BayFirst Financial”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Madison County Financial	$32.34 million	2.51	$6.50 million	N/A	N/A
BayFirst Financial	$104.19 million	0.26	-$22.94 million	($7.22)	-0.90

Madison County Financial has higher earnings, but lower revenue than BayFirst Financial.

Profitability

This table compares Madison County Financial and BayFirst Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Madison County Financial	N/A	N/A	N/A
BayFirst Financial	-29.20%	-37.66%	-2.21%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Madison County Financial and BayFirst Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Madison County Financial	0	0	0	0	0.00
BayFirst Financial	1	0	0	0	1.00

Volatility and Risk

Madison County Financial has a beta of 0.09, indicating that its share price is 91% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BayFirst Financial has a beta of 0.63, indicating that its share price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500.

About Madison County Financial

Madison County Financial, Inc. operates as the holding company for Madison County Bank that provides banking and financial services to individual and corporate customers in Nebraska, the United States. It offers checking, money market savings, savings, and individual retirement accounts; certificates of deposit; credit and debit cards; home loans; and consumer loans, including home equity lines of credit, second mortgage, home improvement, recreational vehicle, personal, and overdraft protection loans, as well as loans for automobiles, trucks, and vans. The company also provides agricultural real estate, machinery and equipment, livestock and crop, and operating loans; and commercial real estate, construction, investment property, and working capital loans, as well as equipment financing services. In addition, it offers online and mobile banking, and merchant services. The company was formerly known as Madison County Holding Company and changed its name to Madison County Financial, Inc. in October 2012. Madison County Financial, Inc. was founded in 1888 and is headquartered in Madison, Nebraska.

About BayFirst Financial

BayFirst Financial Corp. operates as the bank holding company for BayFirst National Bank that provides community banking services for businesses and individuals. The company offers checking, savings, NOW, and money market deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit and individual retirement account; and safety deposit boxes. It also provides commercial real estate mortgages; construction and development, working capital, and business loans; auto, boat, and recreational vehicle loans; and residential mortgages, personal lines of credit, and home equity lines of credit. In addition, the company offers mobile and online banking, treasury management, wire transfers, cash management, merchant processing, remote deposit capture, night depositor, online bill payment, courier, retail investment, ACH originations, and other services. It operates full-service banking centers in St. Petersburg, Seminole, Pinellas Park, Clearwater, Sarasota, Tampa, Belleair Bluffs, and Bradenton, Florida. The company was formerly known as First Home Bancorp, Inc. and changed its name to BayFirst Financial Corp. in May 2021. BayFirst Financial Corp. was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida.