Head-To-Head Survey: M&F Bancorp (OTCMKTS:MFBP) & Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST)

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) and M&F Bancorp (OTCMKTS:MFBP) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, profitability and risk.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Southern First Bancshares and M&F Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Southern First Bancshares	0	2	1	0	2.33
M&F Bancorp	0	0	0	0	0.00

Southern First Bancshares currently has a consensus price target of $51.00, indicating a potential downside of 5.57%. Given Southern First Bancshares’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Southern First Bancshares is more favorable than M&F Bancorp.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

75.0% of Southern First Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. 7.1% of Southern First Bancshares shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.9% of M&F Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

Southern First Bancshares has a beta of 0.74, indicating that its share price is 26% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, M&F Bancorp has a beta of -0.63, indicating that its share price is 163% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Southern First Bancshares and M&F Bancorp”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Southern First Bancshares	$224.62 million	1.97	$15.53 million	$3.23	16.72
M&F Bancorp	$29.33 million	1.32	$4.77 million	$1.99	10.05

Southern First Bancshares has higher revenue and earnings than M&F Bancorp. M&F Bancorp 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.

Profitability

This table compares Southern First Bancshares and M&F Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Southern First Bancshares	13.52%	8.76%	0.70%
M&F Bancorp	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

Southern First Bancshares beats M&F Bancorp on 14 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About M&F Bancorp

M&F Bancorp, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for the Mechanics and Farmers Bank that provides consumer and commercial banking products and services in North Carolina. It offers deposit products, including demand deposits; checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company provides loans for commercial and residential real estate, and construction; and consumer and other loans; as well as ATM services. M&F Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1907 and is headquartered in Durham, North Carolina.