Critical Comparison: Meridian (NASDAQ:MRBK) & Ballston Spa Bancorp (OTCMKTS:BSPA)

Ballston Spa Bancorp (OTCMKTS:BSPA) and Meridian (NASDAQ:MRBK) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership and dividends.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Ballston Spa Bancorp and Meridian, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ballston Spa Bancorp	0	0	0	0	0.00
Meridian	0	1	1	0	2.50

Meridian has a consensus price target of $16.00, indicating a potential upside of 13.39%. Given Meridian’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Meridian is more favorable than Ballston Spa Bancorp.

Profitability

This table compares Ballston Spa Bancorp and Meridian’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ballston Spa Bancorp	N/A	N/A	N/A
Meridian	6.00%	6.99%	0.49%

Dividends

Ballston Spa Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. Meridian pays an annual dividend of $0.50 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Meridian pays out 49.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Volatility & Risk

Ballston Spa Bancorp has a beta of -0.29, meaning that its share price is 129% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Meridian has a beta of 0.81, meaning that its share price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Ballston Spa Bancorp and Meridian”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ballston Spa Bancorp	$36.16 million	1.20	$4.78 million	N/A	N/A
Meridian	$104.81 million	1.51	$13.24 million	$1.01	13.97

Meridian has higher revenue and earnings than Ballston Spa Bancorp.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

2.4% of Ballston Spa Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 58.6% of Meridian shares are owned by institutional investors. 14.0% of Meridian shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Meridian beats Ballston Spa Bancorp on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ballston Spa Bancorp

Ballston Spa Bancorp, Inc. operates as a holding company for Ballston Spa National Bank that provides a range of banking, financing, fiduciary, brokerage, and other financial services to corporate, municipal, and individual customers in the United States. It offers checking, money market, savings, health savings, and individual retirement accounts, as well as certificates of deposit; loan products, such as mortgage and home construction, improvement, and equity loans, auto, boat, RV, personal, commercial, and small business loans, as well as lines of credit and government programs; and debits and credit cards. The company also provides personal investment services, which include annuities, college savings plans, mutual funds, and life and long term care insurance products; retirement plans; college planning services; investment and asset management; trusteeship; estate settlement; special needs and disability trusts; and wealth management services. In addition, the company offers treasury management services; and merchant and payment processing services, as well as online and mobile banking, and digital payments. The company was founded in 1838 and is based in Ballston Spa, New York.

About Meridian

Meridian Corporation operates as the holding company for Meridian Bank that provides commercial banking products and services in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Florida, and Maryland. The company offers various deposit products, such as demand non-interest bearing, demand interest bearing, savings accounts, money market accounts, and time deposits. It also provides commercial and industrial loans comprising business lines of credit, term loans, small business lending, lease financing, shared national credits, and other financing; commercial real estate, and land development and construction loans for residential and commercial projects; and consumer and home equity lending, private banking, merchant, and title and land settlement services. In addition, the company operates and originates mortgage loans for 1-4 family dwellings; and offers real estate holding, investment advisory, and equipment leasing services, as well as financial planning and wealth management services. Meridian Corporation was incorporated in 2004 and is headquartered in Malvern, Pennsylvania.