Financial Review: Mid-Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:MSVB) vs. BankUnited (NYSE:BKU)

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) and Mid-Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:MSVB) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, profitability and dividends.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares BankUnited and Mid-Southern Bancorp’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
BankUnited	$1.94 billion	1.11	$178.67 million	$2.32	12.47
Mid-Southern Bancorp	$11.71 million	3.48	$1.46 million	$0.54	26.17

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

Volatility and Risk

BankUnited has a beta of 1.34, indicating that its stock price is 34% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Mid-Southern Bancorp has a beta of 0.17, indicating that its stock price is 83% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares BankUnited and Mid-Southern Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
BankUnited	8.71%	8.06%	0.58%
Mid-Southern Bancorp	12.43%	4.28%	0.55%

Dividends

BankUnited pays an annual dividend of $1.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. Mid-Southern Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. BankUnited pays out 50.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Mid-Southern Bancorp pays out 44.4% 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. BankUnited has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years. BankUnited is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

99.7% of BankUnited shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 10.1% of Mid-Southern Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 1.2% of BankUnited shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 10.2% of Mid-Southern Bancorp shares are held 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.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for BankUnited and Mid-Southern Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
BankUnited	2	7	0	0	1.78
Mid-Southern Bancorp	0	0	0	0	N/A

BankUnited currently has a consensus target price of $30.50, indicating a potential upside of 5.43%. Given BankUnited’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe BankUnited is more favorable than Mid-Southern Bancorp.

Summary

BankUnited beats Mid-Southern Bancorp on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About BankUnited

BankUnited, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for BankUnited, a national banking association that provides a range of banking services in the United States. The company offers deposit products, such as checking, money market deposit, and savings accounts; certificates of deposit; and treasury, commercial payment, and cash management services. Its loans portfolio includes commercial loans, including equipment loans, secured and unsecured lines of credit, formula-based lines of credit, owner-occupied commercial real estate term loans and lines of credit, mortgage warehouse lines, subscription finance facilities, letters of credit, commercial credit cards, small business administration and U.S. department of agriculture product offerings, export-import bank financing products, trade finance, and business acquisition finance credit facilities; commercial real estate loans; residential mortgages; and other consumer loans. The company offers online, mobile, and telephone banking services. It operates through a network of banking centers located in Florida counties and the New York metropolitan area, as well as Dallas, Texas. The company was formerly known as BU Financial Corporation. BankUnited, Inc. was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in Miami Lakes, Florida.

About Mid-Southern Bancorp

Mid-Southern Bancorp, Inc. operates as the holding company for Mid-Southern Savings Bank, FSB that provides various banking products and services to individuals and business customers. It accepts various deposit products, including checking, savings, money market, and demand accounts, as well as certificates of deposit and term deposits. The company also offers loans secured by first mortgages on one- to four-family residences, including home equity loans and lines of credit; commercial and multifamily real estate loans; construction loans secured by single-family residences; commercial and multifamily real estate loans; land and lot loans; commercial business loans; consumer loans, including new and used manufactured homes, automobiles and truck, boats, and motorcycles and recreational vehicle loans; loans secured by savings deposits and other personal loans; and unsecured consumer loans. In addition, it holds and manages an investment securities portfolio. The company provides its products and services through its main office in Salem; and through its branch offices located in Mitchell and Orleans, Indiana, as well as through loan production offices located in New Albany, Indiana and Louisville, Kentucky. The company was founded in 1886 and is headquartered in Salem, Indiana.