Ponce Financial Group (PDLB) Competitors

First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) and Ponce Financial Group (NASDAQ:PDLB) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, media sentiment, profitability, community ranking and analyst recommendations.

Does the media refer more to FBMS or PDLB?

In the previous week, First Bancshares had 4 more articles in the media than Ponce Financial Group. MarketBeat recorded 4 mentions for First Bancshares and 0 mentions for Ponce Financial Group. First Bancshares' average media sentiment score of 0.87 beat Ponce Financial Group's score of 0.00 indicating that First Bancshares is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
First Bancshares	Positive
Ponce Financial Group	Neutral

Is FBMS or PDLB more profitable?

First Bancshares has a net margin of 17.25% compared to Ponce Financial Group's net margin of 5.31%. First Bancshares' return on equity of 8.19% beat Ponce Financial Group's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Bancshares	17.25%	8.19%	1.00%
Ponce Financial Group	5.31%	3.15%	0.30%

Does the MarketBeat Community favor FBMS or PDLB?

First Bancshares received 147 more outperform votes than Ponce Financial Group when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 53.94% of users gave First Bancshares an outperform vote while only 53.42% of users gave Ponce Financial Group an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
First Bancshares	Outperform Votes 233 53.94%	Underperform Votes 199 46.06%
Ponce Financial Group	Outperform Votes 86 53.42%	Underperform Votes 75 46.58%

Which has stronger earnings and valuation, FBMS or PDLB?

First Bancshares has higher revenue and earnings than Ponce Financial Group. First Bancshares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ponce Financial Group, 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
First Bancshares	$267.28M	4.03	$75.46M	$2.21	15.63
Ponce Financial Group	$76.91M	3.87	$3.35M	$0.37	33.78

Do analysts rate FBMS or PDLB?

First Bancshares currently has a consensus target price of $37.17, indicating a potential upside of 7.60%. Given First Bancshares' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe First Bancshares is more favorable than Ponce Financial Group.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Bancshares	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50
Ponce Financial Group	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of FBMS or PDLB?

69.9% of First Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 64.3% of Ponce Financial Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.5% of First Bancshares shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 6.7% of Ponce Financial Group shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has more risk and volatility, FBMS or PDLB?

First Bancshares has a beta of 0.93, meaning that its stock price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ponce Financial Group has a beta of 0.66, meaning that its stock price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

First Bancshares beats Ponce Financial Group on 16 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.