Comparing First Guaranty Bancshares (NASDAQ:FGBI) & First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

First Guaranty Bancshares (NASDAQ:FGBI) and First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, risk, profitability, institutional ownership and earnings.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for First Guaranty Bancshares and First Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Guaranty Bancshares	1	1	0	0	1.50
First Bancorp	0	2	3	1	2.83

First Bancorp has a consensus price target of $62.25, suggesting a potential upside of 5.76%. Given First Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe First Bancorp is more favorable than First Guaranty Bancshares.

Profitability

This table compares First Guaranty Bancshares and First Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Guaranty Bancshares	-21.47%	-16.79%	-0.87%
First Bancorp	20.59%	10.86%	1.38%

Dividends

First Guaranty Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. First Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. First Guaranty Bancshares pays out -1.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Bancorp pays out 32.8% 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.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

39.5% of First Guaranty Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 68.4% of First Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 47.2% of First Guaranty Bancshares shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.0% of First Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares First Guaranty Bancshares and First Bancorp”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Guaranty Bancshares	$221.76 million	0.67	-$56.02 million	($3.20)	-2.92
First Bancorp	$549.30 million	4.44	$111.05 million	$2.93	20.09

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

Volatility & Risk

First Guaranty Bancshares has a beta of 0.44, indicating that its stock price is 56% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Bancorp has a beta of 0.82, indicating that its stock price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

First Bancorp beats First Guaranty Bancshares on 15 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About First Guaranty Bancshares

First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. operates as the holding company for First Guaranty Bank that provides commercial banking services in Louisiana and Texas. It offers various deposit products, including personal and business checking, savings, money market, and demand accounts, as well as time deposits to consumers, small businesses, and municipalities. The company provides loans, such as non-farm, non-residential loans secured by real estate, commercial and industrial loans, one- to four-family residential loans, multifamily loans, construction and land development loans, agricultural loans, farmland loans, and consumer and other loans to small to medium-sized businesses and professionals, and individuals. In addition, it offers a range of consumer services, including credit cards, mobile deposit capture, safe deposit boxes, official checks, online and mobile banking, automated teller machines, and online bill pay; provides additional solutions, such as merchant services, remote deposit capture, and lockbox services to business customers; and invests a portion of its assets in securities issued by the United States Government and its agencies, state and municipal obligations, corporate debt securities, mutual funds, and equity securities, as well as invests in mortgage-backed securities primarily issued or guaranteed by United States Government agencies or enterprises. First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. was founded in 1934 and is headquartered in Hammond, Louisiana.

About First Bancorp

First Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for First Bank that provides banking products and services for individuals and small to medium-sized businesses. The company accepts deposit products, such as checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as time deposits, including certificate of deposits and individual retirement accounts. It also offers loans for a range of consumer and commercial purposes comprising loans for business, real estate, personal, home improvement, and automobiles, as well as residential mortgages and small business administration loans; and accounts receivable financing and factoring, inventory financing, and purchase order financing services. In addition, the company provides credit and debit cards, letter of credits, and safe deposit box rental services, as well as electronic funds transfer services consisting of wire transfers; and internet and mobile banking, cash management, bank-by-phone services, and remote deposit capture services. Further, it offers investment and insurance products, such as mutual funds, annuities, long-term care insurance, life insurance, and company retirement plans, as well as property and casualty insurance products; and financial planning services. The company was founded in 1934 and is headquartered in Southern Pines, North Carolina.