Critical Contrast: Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) vs. Thomasville Bancshares (OTCMKTS:THVB)

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) and Thomasville Bancshares (OTCMKTS:THVB) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, dividends, risk and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Southern First Bancshares and Thomasville Bancshares, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Southern First Bancshares	0	0	1	0	3.00
Thomasville Bancshares	0	0	0	0	0.00

Southern First Bancshares presently has a consensus price target of $44.00, indicating a potential downside of 1.54%. Given Southern First Bancshares’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Southern First Bancshares is more favorable than Thomasville Bancshares.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Southern First Bancshares and Thomasville Bancshares”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Southern First Bancshares	$187.46 million	1.95	$13.43 million	$1.73	25.83
Thomasville Bancshares	$109.70 million	4.08	$33.55 million	N/A	N/A

Thomasville Bancshares has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Southern First Bancshares.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

75.0% of Southern First Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.6% of Southern First Bancshares shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Southern First Bancshares has a beta of 0.79, indicating that its share price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Thomasville Bancshares has a beta of 0.15, indicating that its share price is 85% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Southern First Bancshares and Thomasville Bancshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Southern First Bancshares	6.67%	4.42%	0.34%
Thomasville Bancshares	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

Southern First Bancshares beats Thomasville Bancshares on 10 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Southern First Bancshares

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Southern First Bank that provides commercial, consumer, and mortgage loans to the general public in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia. The company accepts various deposit products that include checking accounts, commercial checking accounts, and savings accounts, as well as other time deposits, including daily money market accounts and long-term certificates of deposit. Its loan portfolio comprises commercial real estate loans; construction real estate loans; commercial business loans for various lines of businesses, such as the manufacturing, service industry, and professional service areas; consumer real estate and home equity loans; and other consumer loans, including secured and unsecured installment loans and revolving lines of credit. In addition, the company provides other bank services, such as internet banking, cash management, safe deposit boxes, direct deposit, automatic drafts, bill payment, and mobile banking services. Southern First Bancshares, Inc. was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina.

About Thomasville Bancshares

Thomasville Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Thomasville National Bank that provides a range of banking services to individual and corporate customers primarily in Thomas and Glynn counties, Georgia, Leon County, Florida, and the surrounding counties. The company offers checking and savings accounts; money market accounts; and certificates of deposits. It also provides commercial real estate mortgage loans, such as non-farm and non-residential commercial real estate loans, construction loans for commercial businesses, multifamily loans secured by income producing properties, and farmland; and 1-4 family residential loans, including first mortgage liens, junior liens, and home equity lines. In addition, the company offers commercial, financial, and agricultural loans; consumer loans comprising direct consumer instalment loans, overdrafts, and other revolving credit loans and educational loans; and loans to municipalities and development authorities. Further, it provides trust and money management services. The company was incorporated in 1995 and is based in Thomasville, Georgia.