C&F Financial (NASDAQ:CFFI) versus Third Coast Bancshares (NASDAQ:TCBX) Critical Contrast

Third Coast Bancshares (NASDAQ:TCBX) and C&F Financial (NASDAQ:CFFI) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Third Coast Bancshares and C&F Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Third Coast Bancshares	16.30%	12.05%	1.17%
C&F Financial	14.84%	11.03%	1.03%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for Third Coast Bancshares and C&F Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Third Coast Bancshares	0	2	3	0	2.60
C&F Financial	0	1	0	0	2.00

Third Coast Bancshares presently has a consensus price target of $45.00, suggesting a potential upside of 13.34%. Given Third Coast Bancshares’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Third Coast Bancshares is more favorable than C&F Financial.

Risk and Volatility

Third Coast Bancshares has a beta of 0.33, indicating that its share price is 67% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, C&F Financial has a beta of 0.34, indicating that its share price is 66% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Third Coast Bancshares and C&F Financial”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Third Coast Bancshares	$219.24 million	3.00	$47.67 million	$3.89	10.21
C&F Financial	$186.13 million	1.30	$26.83 million	$8.70	8.57

Third Coast Bancshares has higher revenue and earnings than C&F Financial. C&F Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Third Coast Bancshares, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Third Coast Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $16.87 per share and has a dividend yield of 42.5%. C&F Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Third Coast Bancshares pays out 433.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. C&F Financial pays out 22.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. C&F Financial has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

36.9% of Third Coast Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 37.2% of C&F Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 10.5% of Third Coast Bancshares shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 6.4% of C&F Financial shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Third Coast Bancshares beats C&F Financial on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Third Coast Bancshares

Third Coast Bancshares, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for Third Coast Bank, SSB that provides various commercial banking solutions to small and medium-sized businesses, and professionals. The company's deposit products include checking, savings, individual retirement, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. It also offers commercial and industrial loans, equipment loans, working capital lines of credit, guaranteed loans, auto finance, letters of credit, commercial and residential real estate, and construction, development, and other loans. In addition, the company provides retail and commercial online banking platforms, mobile banking apps, mortgage, treasury management solutions, merchant card services, and customer digital solutions, as well as debit and credit cards. Third Coast Bancshares, Inc. was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Humble, Texas.

About C&F Financial

C&F Financial Corp. is a bank holding company, which engages in the provision of banking services to individuals and businesses. It operates through the following segments: Community Banking, Mortgage Banking and Consumer Finance. The Community Banking segment provides checking and savings deposit accounts, business, real estate, development, mortgage, home equity, and installment loans. The Mortgage Banking segment offers ancillary mortgage loan origination services for loan settlement and residential appraisals. The Consumer Finance segment consists of automobile financing through lending programs that are designed to serve customers in the non-prime market who have limited access to traditional automobile financing. The company was founded on March 8, 1994 and is headquartered in Toano, VA.