First Community Bankshares (FCBC) Competitors

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) and First Community Bankshares (NASDAQ:FCBC) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, media sentiment, dividends, valuation, risk, institutional ownership, community ranking, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Which has more volatility & risk, CATY or FCBC?

Cathay General Bancorp has a beta of 0.99, indicating that its share price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Community Bankshares has a beta of 0.52, indicating that its share price is 48% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has stronger valuation and earnings, CATY or FCBC?

Cathay General Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than First Community Bankshares. Cathay General Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than First Community Bankshares, 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
Cathay General Bancorp	$729.72M	3.69	$285.98M	$3.96	9.68
First Community Bankshares	$156.22M	4.46	$51.60M	$2.84	13.38

Is CATY or FCBC more profitable?

First Community Bankshares has a net margin of 27.81% compared to Cathay General Bancorp's net margin of 20.57%. Cathay General Bancorp's return on equity of 10.70% beat First Community Bankshares' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cathay General Bancorp	20.57%	10.70%	1.29%
First Community Bankshares	27.81%	10.35%	1.64%

Do analysts prefer CATY or FCBC?

Cathay General Bancorp presently has a consensus target price of $50.80, suggesting a potential upside of 32.50%. First Community Bankshares has a consensus target price of $38.00, suggesting a potential upside of 0.00%. Given Cathay General Bancorp's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Cathay General Bancorp is more favorable than First Community Bankshares.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cathay General Bancorp	1 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.20
First Community Bankshares	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in CATY or FCBC?

Cathay General Bancorp received 92 more outperform votes than First Community Bankshares when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 58.15% of users gave First Community Bankshares an outperform vote while only 57.87% of users gave Cathay General Bancorp an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Cathay General Bancorp	Outperform Votes 331 57.87%	Underperform Votes 241 42.13%
First Community Bankshares	Outperform Votes 239 58.15%	Underperform Votes 172 41.85%

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in CATY or FCBC?

75.0% of Cathay General Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 35.0% of First Community Bankshares shares are held by institutional investors. 4.8% of Cathay General Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.7% of First Community Bankshares shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Does the media favor CATY or FCBC?

In the previous week, Cathay General Bancorp had 10 more articles in the media than First Community Bankshares. MarketBeat recorded 12 mentions for Cathay General Bancorp and 2 mentions for First Community Bankshares. Cathay General Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 1.33 beat First Community Bankshares' score of 0.81 indicating that Cathay General Bancorp is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Cathay General Bancorp	8 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
First Community Bankshares	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is CATY or FCBC a better dividend stock?

Cathay General Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. First Community Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $1.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Cathay General Bancorp pays out 34.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Community Bankshares pays out 43.7% 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. First Community Bankshares has raised its dividend for 13 consecutive years. Cathay General Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Cathay General Bancorp beats First Community Bankshares on 15 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.