Reviewing First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) & TriCo Bancshares (NASDAQ:TCBK)

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

59.1% of TriCo Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 61.3% of First Community shares are held by institutional investors. 4.9% of TriCo Bancshares shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 8.8% of First Community shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

TriCo Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $1.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. First Community pays an annual dividend of $0.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. TriCo Bancshares pays out 34.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Community pays out 25.4% 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. TriCo Bancshares has increased its dividend for 12 consecutive years and First Community has increased its dividend for 4 consecutive years. TriCo Bancshares is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
TriCo Bancshares	24.67%	10.23%	1.37%
First Community	18.32%	13.23%	1.16%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for TriCo Bancshares and First Community, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
TriCo Bancshares	0	5	2	0	2.29
First Community	0	0	2	0	3.00

TriCo Bancshares presently has a consensus price target of $55.30, indicating a potential upside of 6.26%. First Community has a consensus price target of $37.50, indicating a potential upside of 15.24%. Given First Community’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe First Community is more favorable than TriCo Bancshares.

Volatility & Risk

TriCo Bancshares has a beta of 0.66, suggesting that its share price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Community has a beta of 0.33, suggesting that its share price is 67% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares TriCo Bancshares and First Community”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
TriCo Bancshares	$538.91 million	3.09	$121.56 million	$4.17	12.48
First Community	$114.00 million	2.68	$19.20 million	$2.68	12.14

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

Summary

TriCo Bancshares beats First Community on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About TriCo Bancshares

TriCo Bancshares operates as a bank holding company for Tri Counties Bank that provides commercial banking services to individual and corporate customers. The company accepts demand, savings, and time deposits. It also provides small business loans; real estate mortgage loans, such as residential and commercial loans; consumer loans; mortgage, auto, other vehicle, and personal loans; commercial loans, including agricultural loans; and real estate construction loans. In addition, the company offers treasury management services; credit and debit cards; and other customary banking services, including safe deposit boxes; and independent financial and broker-dealer services. Further, it provides checking, saving, and money market accounts, as well as individual retirement accounts; equipment financing; certificate of deposit account registry service; certificated of deposit; and IntraFi cash service. TriCo Bancshares was founded in 1975 and is headquartered in Chico, California.

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.