Comparing Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) and Grupo Supervielle (NYSE:SUPV)

Grupo Supervielle (NYSE:SUPV) and Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, institutional ownership, risk, valuation, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares Grupo Supervielle and Southern First Bancshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Grupo Supervielle	-3.60%	-2.67%	-0.35%
Southern First Bancshares	16.78%	10.18%	0.88%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Grupo Supervielle and Southern First Bancshares, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Grupo Supervielle	1	4	2	0	2.14
Southern First Bancshares	0	1	2	0	2.67

Grupo Supervielle presently has a consensus price target of $13.17, indicating a potential upside of 85.50%. Southern First Bancshares has a consensus price target of $64.00, indicating a potential upside of 6.33%. Given Grupo Supervielle’s higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Grupo Supervielle is more favorable than Southern First Bancshares.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Grupo Supervielle and Southern First Bancshares”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Grupo Supervielle	$1,160.93 billion	0.00	-$38.87 million	($0.63)	-11.27
Southern First Bancshares	$132.64 million	4.29	$30.37 million	$4.67	12.89

Southern First Bancshares has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Grupo Supervielle. Grupo Supervielle is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Southern First Bancshares, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk and Volatility

Grupo Supervielle has a beta of 1.54, meaning that its share price is 54% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Southern First Bancshares has a beta of 0.71, meaning that its share price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

75.0% of Southern First Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. 6.9% of Southern First Bancshares shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Southern First Bancshares beats Grupo Supervielle on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Grupo Supervielle

Grupo Supervielle S.A., a financial services holding company, provides various banking products and services in Argentina. The company operates through Personal & Business Banking, Corporate Banking, Bank Treasury, Consumer Finance, Insurance, and Asset Management and Other Services segments. It offers savings accounts, time and demand deposits, and checking accounts; various loan products, including personal, consumer, mortgage, unsecured, and car loans; overdrafts; loans with special facilities for project and working capital financing; and leasing, bank guarantees for tenants, salary advances, domestic and international factoring, international guarantees and letters of credit, payroll payment plans, credit and debit cards, and senior citizens benefit payment services, as well as financial services and investments, such as mutual funds and guarantees. The company also provides foreign trade and cash management; advisory services; treasury services; insurance products comprising life, home, personal accidents, technology, ATMs, protected bag, and protected content; and asset management and other services, as well as operates as a digital online broker. It operates through a network of bank branches, ATMs, and self-service terminals, as well as ATMs with biometric identification. The company was formerly known as Inversiones y Participaciones S.A. and changed its name to Grupo Supervielle S.A. in November 2008. Grupo Supervielle S.A. was founded in 1887 and is based in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

About Southern First Bancshares

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Southern First Bank that provides commercial, consumer, and mortgage loans to the general public in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia. The company accepts various deposit products that include checking accounts, commercial checking accounts, and savings accounts, as well as other time deposits, including daily money market accounts and long-term certificates of deposit. Its loan portfolio comprises commercial real estate loans; construction real estate loans; commercial business loans for various lines of businesses, such as the manufacturing, service industry, and professional service areas; consumer real estate and home equity loans; and other consumer loans, including secured and unsecured installment loans and revolving lines of credit. In addition, the company provides other bank services, such as internet banking, cash management, safe deposit boxes, direct deposit, automatic drafts, bill payment, and mobile banking services. Southern First Bancshares, Inc. was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina.