First Bancorp (FBNC) Competitors

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) and Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) (NYSE:HOMB) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their community ranking, valuation, media sentiment, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, profitability and institutional ownership.

Does the media favor FBNC or HOMB?

In the previous week, Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) had 2 more articles in the media than First Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 6 mentions for Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) and 4 mentions for First Bancorp. First Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 1.70 beat Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR)'s score of 1.09 indicating that First Bancorp is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
First Bancorp	3 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR)	5 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer FBNC or HOMB?

Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) received 97 more outperform votes than First Bancorp when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 62.56% of users gave First Bancorp an outperform vote while only 60.24% of users gave Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
First Bancorp	Outperform Votes 406 62.56%	Underperform Votes 243 37.44%
Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR)	Outperform Votes 503 60.24%	Underperform Votes 332 39.76%

Do analysts prefer FBNC or HOMB?

First Bancorp presently has a consensus price target of $56.00, suggesting a potential upside of 43.90%. Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) has a consensus price target of $32.00, suggesting a potential upside of 15.59%. Given First Bancorp's higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe First Bancorp is more favorable than Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR).

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50
Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR)	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.60

Do institutionals and insiders believe in FBNC or HOMB?

68.4% of First Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 67.3% of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) shares are held by institutional investors. 3.7% of First Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 7.7% of Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) shares are held 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.

Is FBNC or HOMB a better dividend stock?

First Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) pays an annual dividend of $0.78 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. First Bancorp pays out 47.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) pays out 38.6% 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. Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) has increased its dividend for 14 consecutive years. Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has more risk & volatility, FBNC or HOMB?

First Bancorp has a beta of 1.04, meaning that its share price is 4% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) has a beta of 1.08, meaning that its share price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is FBNC or HOMB more profitable?

Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) has a net margin of 27.39% compared to First Bancorp's net margin of 14.19%. Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR)'s return on equity of 10.31% beat First Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Bancorp	14.19%	8.04%	0.95%
Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR)	27.39%	10.31%	1.77%

Which has higher valuation & earnings, FBNC or HOMB?

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

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Bancorp	$343.85M	4.68	$76.21M	$1.84	21.15
Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR)	$1.00B	5.49	$402.24M	$2.02	13.71

Summary

Home Bancshares, Inc. (Conway, AR) beats First Bancorp on 16 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.