Reviewing BV Financial (NASDAQ:BVFL) and Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC)

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) and BV Financial (NASDAQ:BVFL) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership and dividends.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

71.7% of Eastern Bankshares shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 42.7% of BV Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 1.2% of Eastern Bankshares shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 7.8% of BV Financial shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Eastern Bankshares	11.07%	6.02%	0.85%
BV Financial	23.83%	6.09%	1.40%

Valuation & Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Eastern Bankshares	$731.51 million	4.23	$119.56 million	$0.67	21.63
BV Financial	$37.70 million	3.91	$11.72 million	$1.09	12.77

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Eastern Bankshares and BV Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Eastern Bankshares	0	1	1	0	2.50
BV Financial	0	0	0	0	0.00

Eastern Bankshares currently has a consensus price target of $20.25, indicating a potential upside of 39.75%. Given Eastern Bankshares’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Eastern Bankshares is more favorable than BV Financial.

Volatility and Risk

Eastern Bankshares has a beta of 0.96, suggesting that its stock price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BV Financial has a beta of 0.63, suggesting that its stock price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Eastern Bankshares beats BV Financial on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Eastern Bankshares

Eastern Bankshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Eastern Bank that provides banking products and services primarily to retail, commercial, and small business customers. The company provides deposit accounts, interest checking accounts, money market accounts, savings accounts, and time certificates of deposit accounts. It also offers commercial and industrial, commercial real estate and construction, small business, residential real estate, and home equity loans; lines of credit; and other consumer loans comprising unsecured personal lines of credit, overdraft protection, automobile loans, home improvement loans, airplane loans, and other personal loans. In addition, the company provides trust, financial planning and portfolio management, automated lock box collection, cash management, and account reconciliation services; personal, business, and employee benefits insurance products. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. was founded in 1818 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.

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.