Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) vs. NB Bancorp (NASDAQ:NBBK) Head-To-Head Survey

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) and NB Bancorp (NASDAQ:NBBK) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, dividends, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and valuation.

Dividends

Business First Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. NB Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Business First Bancshares pays out 22.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. NB Bancorp pays out 21.1% 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. Business First Bancshares has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Business First Bancshares is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Volatility and Risk

Business First Bancshares has a beta of 0.86, indicating that its stock price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, NB Bancorp has a beta of 0.37, indicating that its stock price is 63% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Business First Bancshares and NB Bancorp”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Business First Bancshares	$458.96 million	1.49	$65.11 million	$2.51	9.23
NB Bancorp	$304.05 million	2.34	$42.15 million	$1.33	13.42

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Business First Bancshares and NB Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Business First Bancshares	0	1	4	0	2.80
NB Bancorp	0	2	1	0	2.33

Business First Bancshares presently has a consensus target price of $30.75, suggesting a potential upside of 32.71%. NB Bancorp has a consensus target price of $20.00, suggesting a potential upside of 12.04%. Given Business First Bancshares’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Business First Bancshares is more favorable than NB Bancorp.

Profitability

This table compares Business First Bancshares and NB Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Business First Bancshares	15.47%	11.21%	1.06%
NB Bancorp	15.86%	7.37%	1.07%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

47.4% of Business First Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. 6.5% of Business First Bancshares shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.9% of NB Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Business First Bancshares beats NB Bancorp on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Business First Bancshares

Business First Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for b1BANK that provides various banking products and services in Louisiana and Texas. It offers various deposit products and services, including checking, demand, money market, time, and savings accounts; and certificates of deposits, remote deposit capture, and direct deposit services. The company also provides commercial and industrial loans, such as working capital, term, equipment financing, asset acquisition, expansion and development, borrowing base, and other loan products, as well as commercial lines of credit, accounts receivable factoring, agricultural financing, and letters of credit; construction and development loans; commercial real estate loans; residential real estate loans comprising first and second lien 1-4 family mortgage loans, and home equity lines of credit; and consumer loans, including secured and unsecured installment, and term loans. In addition, it offers wealth management products, including mutual funds, annuities, individual retirement accounts, and other financial products, as well as other fiduciary and private banking products and services. Further, the company provides a range of other financial services comprising debit and credit cards, treasury and cash management, merchant, automated clearing house, lock-box, receivables factoring, correspondent banking, and other treasury services, as well as employee and payroll benefits solutions; and drive-through banking facilities, automated teller machines, night depository, personalized checks, electronic funds transfer, domestic and foreign wire transfer, traveler's checks, vault, loan and deposit sweep accounts, online and mobile banking, e-statements, and bank-by-mail services. Business First Bancshares, Inc. was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

About NB Bancorp

NB Bancorp, Inc. focuses on operating as a bank holding company for Needham Bank that provides various banking products and services in Greater Boston metropolitan area and surrounding communities in Massachusetts, eastern Connecticut, southern New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. The company offers various deposits, including certificate of deposit, individual retirement, money market, savings, NOW, demand deposit, and interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing checking accounts; and commercial real estate and multifamily, one- to four-family residential real estate, construction and land development, commercial and industrial, and consumer loans, as well as home equity loans and lines of credit. It also invests in securities consisting of U.S. treasury and federal agency securities, government-sponsored residential mortgage-backed securities, municipal bonds, and corporate bonds. The company was founded in 1892 and is based in Needham, Massachusetts.