Pioneer Bancorp (PBFS) Competitors

Pioneer Bancorp (NASDAQ:PBFS) and First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, community ranking, media sentiment, earnings, risk and institutional ownership.

Which has more volatility & risk, PBFS or FBMS?

Pioneer Bancorp has a beta of 0.5, indicating that its stock price is 50% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Bancshares has a beta of 0.93, indicating that its stock price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media favor PBFS or FBMS?

In the previous week, First Bancshares had 3 more articles in the media than Pioneer Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 5 mentions for First Bancshares and 2 mentions for Pioneer Bancorp. First Bancshares' average media sentiment score of 0.87 beat Pioneer Bancorp's score of -0.38 indicating that First Bancshares is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Pioneer Bancorp	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
First Bancshares	2 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts recommend PBFS or FBMS?

First Bancshares has a consensus target price of $37.17, suggesting a potential upside of 7.60%. Given First Bancshares' stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe First Bancshares is more favorable than Pioneer Bancorp.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Pioneer Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00
First Bancshares	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

Does the MarketBeat Community favor PBFS or FBMS?

First Bancshares received 218 more outperform votes than Pioneer Bancorp when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 53.94% of users gave First Bancshares an outperform vote while only 42.86% of users gave Pioneer Bancorp an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Pioneer Bancorp	Outperform Votes 15 42.86%	Underperform Votes 20 57.14%
First Bancshares	Outperform Votes 233 53.94%	Underperform Votes 199 46.06%

Is PBFS or FBMS more profitable?

First Bancshares has a net margin of 17.25% compared to Pioneer Bancorp's net margin of 16.59%. First Bancshares' return on equity of 8.19% beat Pioneer Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Pioneer Bancorp	16.59%	6.19%	0.94%
First Bancshares	17.25%	8.19%	1.00%

Which has higher valuation and earnings, PBFS or FBMS?

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

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Pioneer Bancorp	$79.44M	3.70	$15.26M	$0.73	15.49
First Bancshares	$267.28M	4.03	$75.46M	$2.21	15.63

Do institutionals and insiders believe in PBFS or FBMS?

69.9% of First Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.8% of Pioneer Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.5% of First Bancshares shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

First Bancshares beats Pioneer Bancorp on 18 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.