Do Southern National Bancorp of Virginia's (NASDAQ:SONA) Earnings Warrant Your Attention?
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For beginners, it can seem like a good idea (and an exciting prospect) to buy a company that tells a good story to investors, even if it completely lacks a track record of revenue and profit. But as Warren Buffett has mused, 'If you've been playing poker for half an hour and you still don't know who the patsy is, you're the patsy.' When they buy such story stocks, investors are all too often the patsy.
So if you're like me, you might be more interested in profitable, growing companies, like Southern National Bancorp of Virginia (NASDAQ:SONA). Now, I'm not saying that the stock is necessarily undervalued today; but I can't shake an appreciation for the profitability of the business itself. While a well funded company may sustain losses for years, unless its owners have an endless appetite for subsidizing the customer, it will need to generate a profit eventually, or else breathe its last breath.
Check out our latest analysis for Southern National Bancorp of Virginia
How Quickly Is Southern National Bancorp of Virginia Increasing Earnings Per Share?
The market is a voting machine in the short term, but a weighing machine in the long term, so share price follows earnings per share (EPS) eventually. It's no surprise, then, that I like to invest in companies with EPS growth. As a tree reaches steadily for the sky, Southern National Bancorp of Virginia's EPS has grown 18% each year, compound, over three years. As a general rule, we'd say that if a company can keep up that sort of growth, shareholders will be smiling.
I like to take a look at earnings before interest and (EBIT) tax margins, as well as revenue growth, to get another take on the quality of the company's growth. I note that Southern National Bancorp of Virginia's revenue from operations was lower than its revenue in the last twelve months, so that could distort my analysis of its margins. Southern National Bancorp of Virginia maintained stable EBIT margins over the last year, all while growing revenue 22% to US$97m. That's a real positive.
You can take a look at the company's revenue and earnings growth trend, in the chart below. For finer detail, click on the image.
Fortunately, we've got access to analyst forecasts of Southern National Bancorp of Virginia's future profits. You can do your own forecasts without looking, or you can take a peek at what the professionals are predicting.
Are Southern National Bancorp of Virginia Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?
Like that fresh smell in the air when the rains are coming, insider buying fills me with optimistic anticipation. Because oftentimes, the purchase of stock is a sign that the buyer views it as undervalued. Of course, we can never be sure what insiders are thinking, we can only judge their actions.
Any way you look at it Southern National Bancorp of Virginia shareholders can gain quiet confidence from the fact that insiders shelled out US$350k to buy stock, over the last year. And when you consider that there was no insider selling, you can understand why shareholders might believe that lady luck will grace this business. Zooming in, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Director John Biagas for US$50k worth of shares, at about US$15.20 per share.
The good news, alongside the insider buying, for Southern National Bancorp of Virginia bulls is that insiders (collectively) have a meaningful investment in the stock. Indeed, they hold US$15m worth of its stock. That's a lot of money, and no small incentive to work hard. Even though that's only about 4.5% of the company, it's enough money to indicate alignment between the leaders of the business and ordinary shareholders.
While insiders are apparently happy to hold and accumulate shares, that is just part of the pretty picture. The cherry on top is that the CEO, Joe Shearin is paid comparatively modestly to CEOs at similar sized companies. I discovered that the median total compensation for the CEOs of companies like Southern National Bancorp of Virginia with market caps between US$200m and US$800m is about US$1.8m.
The Southern National Bancorp of Virginia CEO received US$1.1m in compensation for the year ending December 2018. That seems pretty reasonable, especially given its below the median for similar sized companies. While the level of CEO compensation isn't a huge factor in my view of the company, modest remuneration is a positive, because it suggests that the board keeps shareholder interests in mind. I'd also argue reasonable pay levels attest to good decision making more generally.
Does Southern National Bancorp of Virginia Deserve A Spot On Your Watchlist?
For growth investors like me, Southern National Bancorp of Virginia's raw rate of earnings growth is a beacon in the night. Not only that, but we can see that insiders both own a lot of, and are buying more, shares in the company. So I do think this is one stock worth watching. While we've looked at the quality of the earnings, we haven't yet done any work to value the stock. So if you like to buy cheap, you may want to check if Southern National Bancorp of Virginia is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.
There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. So if you like the sound of Southern National Bancorp of Virginia, you'll probably love this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.
Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction
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If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
