Southern States Bancshares (SSBK) Competitors

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

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer SSBK or FBMS?

First Bancshares received 218 more outperform votes than Southern States Bancshares when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 53.81% of users gave First Bancshares an outperform vote while only 51.72% of users gave Southern States Bancshares an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Southern States Bancshares	Outperform Votes 15 51.72%	Underperform Votes 14 48.28%
First Bancshares	Outperform Votes 233 53.81%	Underperform Votes 200 46.19%

Which has more risk and volatility, SSBK or FBMS?

Southern States Bancshares has a beta of 0.3, indicating that its stock price is 70% 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.

Which has stronger valuation and earnings, SSBK or FBMS?

First Bancshares has higher revenue and earnings than Southern States Bancshares. Southern States Bancshares 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
Southern States Bancshares	$94.58M	3.57	$31.95M	$3.55	9.63
First Bancshares	$267.28M	3.99	$75.46M	$2.21	15.46

Is SSBK or FBMS more profitable?

Southern States Bancshares has a net margin of 19.33% compared to First Bancshares' net margin of 17.25%. Southern States Bancshares' return on equity of 14.11% beat First Bancshares' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Southern States Bancshares	19.33%	14.11%	1.28%
First Bancshares	17.25%	8.19%	1.00%

Is SSBK or FBMS a better dividend stock?

Southern States Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. First Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Southern States Bancshares pays out 10.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Bancshares pays out 45.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Do analysts rate SSBK or FBMS?

Southern States Bancshares currently has a consensus price target of $35.50, indicating a potential upside of 3.86%. First Bancshares has a consensus price target of $37.17, indicating a potential upside of 8.80%. Given First Bancshares' higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe First Bancshares is more favorable than Southern States Bancshares.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Southern States Bancshares	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
First Bancshares	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

Does the media refer more to SSBK or FBMS?

In the previous week, First Bancshares had 4 more articles in the media than Southern States Bancshares. MarketBeat recorded 4 mentions for First Bancshares and 0 mentions for Southern States Bancshares. First Bancshares' average media sentiment score of 0.67 beat Southern States Bancshares' score of -0.55 indicating that First Bancshares is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
Southern States Bancshares	Negative
First Bancshares	Positive

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in SSBK or FBMS?

58.7% of Southern States Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 69.9% of First Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 14.8% of Southern States Bancshares shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.5% of First Bancshares shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

First Bancshares beats Southern States Bancshares on 12 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.