Critical Survey: First Northern Community Bancorp (OTCMKTS:FNRN) vs. Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach (OTCMKTS:FMBL)

Insider & Institutional Ownership

7.6% of Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 17.9% of First Northern Community Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 12.8% of Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 11.8% of First Northern Community Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach has a beta of 0.29, suggesting that its stock price is 71% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Northern Community Bancorp has a beta of 0.08, suggesting that its stock price is 92% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach and First Northern Community Bancorp”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach	$459.33 million	2.21	$44.88 million	$428.48	19.41
First Northern Community Bancorp	$84.67 million	2.52	$20.03 million	$1.31	10.36

Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach has higher revenue and earnings than First Northern Community Bancorp. First Northern Community Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach and First Northern Community Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach	12.08%	3.84%	0.46%
First Northern Community Bancorp	24.07%	10.97%	1.11%

Summary

Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach beats First Northern Community Bancorp on 6 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach

Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach provides various banking products and services to individuals, professionals, and small to medium-sized businesses in Los Angeles, Orange, and Santa Barbara Counties. It offers checking, savings, Christmas club savings, health savings, market rate savings, and money market accounts; demand and time deposits; certificates of deposit; and individual retirement account. The company also provides personal, home, commercial real estate, real estate and construction, and commercial business loans, as well as lines of credit; financing for residential loans comprising single-family and multifamily loans; and credit and debit cards. In addition, it offers account management, receivables and payables, and risk management services; commercial lending services; and faith-based and healthcare banking services, as well as online and mobile banking services. Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach was founded in 1907 and is headquartered in Long Beach, California.

About First Northern Community Bancorp

First Northern Community Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for First Northern Bank of Dixon that provides commercial banking products and services to individuals, and small and medium sized businesses. The company accepts demand deposits, interest-bearing transaction deposits, savings and money market deposit accounts, and time deposits. It also offers commercial, commercial real estate, agriculture, residential mortgage, residential construction, and consumer loans. In addition, the company provides debit and credit cards; investment and brokerage services; alternative investment products, and fiduciary and other financial services; and equipment leasing, merchant card processing, payroll, and international banking services through third parties. Further, it offers cashier's checks, safe deposit boxes, and other customary banking services. The company operates branches located in the cities of Auburn, Colusa, Davis, Dixon, Fairfield, Orland, Rancho Cordova, Roseville, Sacramento, Vacaville, West Sacramento, Winters, Willows, and Woodland; satellite banking office inside a retirement community in the city of Davis; residential mortgage loan office in Davis; and commercial loan office in the Contra Costa County city of Walnut Creek. First Northern Community Bancorp was founded in 1910 and is headquartered in Dixon, California.