Madison County Financial (OTCMKTS:MCBK) and First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) Financial Comparison

Madison County Financial (OTCMKTS:MCBK) and First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends and earnings.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Madison County Financial and First Community”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Madison County Financial	$32.34 million	2.51	$6.50 million	N/A	N/A
First Community	$114.00 million	2.41	$19.20 million	$2.55	11.47

First Community has higher revenue and earnings than Madison County Financial.

Profitability

This table compares Madison County Financial and First Community’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Madison County Financial	N/A	N/A	N/A
First Community	17.29%	14.19%	1.11%

Dividends

Madison County Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.61 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. First Community pays an annual dividend of $0.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. First Community pays out 25.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Community has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years. First Community is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

61.3% of First Community shares are held by institutional investors. 16.9% of Madison County Financial shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 8.8% of First Community shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Madison County Financial has a beta of 0.09, indicating that its stock price is 91% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Community has a beta of 0.35, indicating that its stock price is 65% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Madison County Financial and First Community, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Madison County Financial	0	0	0	0	0.00
First Community	0	1	2	0	2.67

First Community has a consensus target price of $34.00, suggesting a potential upside of 16.20%. Given First Community’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe First Community is more favorable than Madison County Financial.

Summary

First Community beats Madison County Financial on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Madison County Financial

Madison County Financial, Inc. operates as the holding company for Madison County Bank that provides banking and financial services to individual and corporate customers in Nebraska, the United States. It offers checking, money market savings, savings, and individual retirement accounts; certificates of deposit; credit and debit cards; home loans; and consumer loans, including home equity lines of credit, second mortgage, home improvement, recreational vehicle, personal, and overdraft protection loans, as well as loans for automobiles, trucks, and vans. The company also provides agricultural real estate, machinery and equipment, livestock and crop, and operating loans; and commercial real estate, construction, investment property, and working capital loans, as well as equipment financing services. In addition, it offers online and mobile banking, and merchant services. The company was formerly known as Madison County Holding Company and changed its name to Madison County Financial, Inc. in October 2012. Madison County Financial, Inc. was founded in 1888 and is headquartered in Madison, Nebraska.

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.