Bridgewater Bancshares (NASDAQ:BWB) and SB Financial Group (NASDAQ:SBFG) Critical Survey

SB Financial Group (NASDAQ:SBFG) and Bridgewater Bancshares (NASDAQ:BWB) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, risk, valuation, dividends, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

66.7% of SB Financial Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 65.8% of Bridgewater Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.5% of SB Financial Group shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 23.2% of Bridgewater Bancshares shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares SB Financial Group and Bridgewater Bancshares”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
SB Financial Group	$81.37 million	1.81	$11.47 million	$1.72	12.88
Bridgewater Bancshares	$253.27 million	1.49	$32.83 million	$1.03	13.38

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

Risk & Volatility

SB Financial Group has a beta of 0.77, suggesting that its stock price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bridgewater Bancshares has a beta of 0.68, suggesting that its stock price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for SB Financial Group and Bridgewater Bancshares, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SB Financial Group	0	0	0	0	0.00
Bridgewater Bancshares	0	0	3	0	3.00

Bridgewater Bancshares has a consensus target price of $17.50, indicating a potential upside of 27.00%. Given Bridgewater Bancshares’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Bridgewater Bancshares is more favorable than SB Financial Group.

Profitability

This table compares SB Financial Group and Bridgewater Bancshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SB Financial Group	14.10%	8.98%	0.84%
Bridgewater Bancshares	12.96%	8.85%	0.71%

About SB Financial Group

SB Financial Group, Inc. operates as the financial holding company for the State Bank and Trust Company that provides a range of commercial banking and wealth management services to individual and corporate customers primarily in Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan. It offers checking, savings, money market accounts, as well as time certificates of deposit; and commercial, consumer, agricultural, and residential mortgage loans. The company also provides automatic teller machine, personal and corporate trust, commercial leasing, bank credit card, safe deposit box rental, internet banking, private client group, and other personalized banking products and services; and various trust and financial services comprising asset management services for individuals and corporate employee benefit plans, as well as brokerage services. In addition, it sells insurance products to retail and commercial customers. The company was formerly known as Rurban Financial Corp. and changed its name to SB Financial Group, Inc. in April 2013. SB Financial Group, Inc. was founded in 1902 and is based in Defiance, Ohio.

About Bridgewater Bancshares

Bridgewater Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Bridgewater Bank that provides banking products and services to commercial real estate investors, entrepreneurs, business clients, and individuals in the United States. The company provides savings and money market accounts, demand deposits, time and brokered deposits, and interest and noninterest bearing transaction, as well as certificates of deposit. It offers commercial loans to sole proprietorships, partnerships, corporations, and other business enterprises to finance working capital, capital investment, or for other business related purposes; paycheck protection program loans; construction and land development loans; 1-4 family mortgage loans; multifamily lending products; owner and non-owner occupied commercial real estate loans; and consumer and other loans. In addition, the company online, mobile, and direct banking services. Bridgewater Bancshares, Inc. was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Saint Louis Park, Minnesota.