Reviewing First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) and GrandSouth Bancorporation (OTCMKTS:GRRB)

First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) and GrandSouth Bancorporation (OTCMKTS:GRRB) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability and risk.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

61.3% of First Community shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.9% of First Community shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 33.3% of GrandSouth Bancorporation shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for First Community and GrandSouth Bancorporation, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Community	0	0	2	1	3.33
GrandSouth Bancorporation	0	0	0	0	0.00

First Community currently has a consensus target price of $29.6667, suggesting a potential upside of 15.17%. Given First Community’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe First Community is more favorable than GrandSouth Bancorporation.

Profitability

This table compares First Community and GrandSouth Bancorporation’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Community	15.87%	11.65%	0.87%
GrandSouth Bancorporation	N/A	N/A	N/A

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares First Community and GrandSouth Bancorporation”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Community	$103.43 million	1.92	$13.95 million	$2.23	11.55
GrandSouth Bancorporation	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

First Community has higher revenue and earnings than GrandSouth Bancorporation.

Summary

First Community beats GrandSouth Bancorporation on 9 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About First Community

First Community Corporation operates as the bank holding company for First Community Bank that provides various commercial and retail banking products and services to small-to-medium sized businesses, professionals, and individuals. The company operates through Commercial and Retail Banking, Mortgage Banking, and Investment Advisory and Non-Deposit segments. Its deposit products include checking, NOW, savings, and individual retirement accounts; and demand deposits, as well as other time deposits, such as daily money market accounts and longer-term certificates of deposit. The company's loan portfolio comprises commercial loans that include secured and unsecured loans for working capital, business expansion, and the purchase of equipment and machinery; consumer loans, including secured and unsecured loans for financing automobiles, home improvements, education, and personal investments; real estate construction and acquisition loans; and fixed and variable rate mortgage loans. It also provides online banking, internet banking, cash management, safe deposit boxes, direct deposit of payroll and social security checks, and automatic drafts for various accounts. In addition, the company offers non-deposit investment products and other investment brokerage services; VISA and MasterCard credit card services; investment advisory services; and insurance services. The company was incorporated in 1994 and is headquartered in Lexington, South Carolina.

About GrandSouth Bancorporation

GrandSouth Bancorporation operates as the bank holding company for GrandSouth Bank that provides banking services to individuals and businesses. It accepts checking accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, various term certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts. The company also offers one-to-four family residential, commercial real estate, home equity and lines of credit, residential construction and other construction and land, and commercial loans; and consumer loans comprising loans secured by personal property, such as automobiles, marketable securities, and boats and motorcycles, as well as unsecured consumer debt. In addition, it invests in investment securities, as well as provides specialty floor plan lending to small auto dealerships under the CarBucks trade name. The company operates through eight branches across South Carolina. GrandSouth Bancorporation was founded in 1998 and is based in Greenville, South Carolina.