Reviewing Financial Institutions (NASDAQ:FISI) and Carter Bankshares (NASDAQ:CARE)

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

41.5% of Carter Bankshares shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 60.5% of Financial Institutions shares are held by institutional investors. 1.9% of Carter Bankshares shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.7% of Financial Institutions shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

Carter Bankshares has a beta of 0.95, meaning that its stock price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Financial Institutions has a beta of 0.86, meaning that its stock price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Carter Bankshares and Financial Institutions, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Carter Bankshares	0	0	2	0	3.00
Financial Institutions	0	1	2	0	2.67

Carter Bankshares presently has a consensus target price of $21.50, indicating a potential upside of 31.74%. Financial Institutions has a consensus target price of $33.00, indicating a potential upside of 32.00%. Given Financial Institutions’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Financial Institutions is more favorable than Carter Bankshares.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Carter Bankshares	10.09%	6.50%	0.53%
Financial Institutions	-6.69%	11.12%	0.81%

Valuation and Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Carter Bankshares	$132.40 million	2.85	$24.52 million	$1.06	15.40
Financial Institutions	$114.53 million	4.38	-$24.52 million	($1.45)	-17.24

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

Summary

Carter Bankshares beats Financial Institutions on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Financial Institutions

Financial Institutions, Inc. operates as a holding company for the Five Star Bank, a chartered bank that provides banking and financial services to individuals, municipalities, and businesses in New York. The company provides checking and savings account programs, including money market accounts, certificates of deposit, sweep investments, and individual retirement and other qualified plan accounts, as well as NOW accounts. Its loan products include term loans and lines of credit; short and medium-term commercial loans for working capital, business expansion, and purchase of equipment; commercial business loans to the agricultural industry; commercial mortgage loans; one-to-four family residential mortgage loans, home improvement loans, closed-end home equity loans, and home equity lines of credit; and consumer loans, such as automobile, secured installment, and personal loans. The company offers personal insurance products, including automobile, homeowners, boat, recreational vehicle, landlord, and umbrella coverage; commercial insurance comprising property, liability, automobile, inland marine, workers compensation, bonds, crop, and umbrella insurance products; and financial services, such as life and disability insurance, medicare supplements, long-term care, annuities, mutual funds, and retirement programs. In addition, it offers customized investment advisory, wealth management, investment consulting, and retirement plan services, as well as operates a real estate investment trust that holds residential mortgages and commercial real estate loans. Financial Institutions, Inc. was founded in 1817 and is headquartered in Warsaw, New York.