First Community Bankshares (FCBC) Competitors

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) and First Community Bankshares (NASDAQ:FCBC) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, valuation, media sentiment, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership and community ranking.

Does the media prefer BKU or FCBC?

In the previous week, First Community Bankshares had 1 more articles in the media than BankUnited. MarketBeat recorded 3 mentions for First Community Bankshares and 2 mentions for BankUnited. First Community Bankshares' average media sentiment score of 1.33 beat BankUnited's score of 0.50 indicating that First Community Bankshares is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
BankUnited	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
First Community Bankshares	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is BKU or FCBC more profitable?

First Community Bankshares has a net margin of 27.18% compared to BankUnited's net margin of 9.06%. First Community Bankshares' return on equity of 10.70% beat BankUnited's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
BankUnited	9.06%	8.09%	0.61%
First Community Bankshares	27.18%	10.70%	1.68%

Is BKU or FCBC a better dividend stock?

BankUnited pays an annual dividend of $1.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. First Community Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $1.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. BankUnited pays out 47.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Community Bankshares pays out 44.4% 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. First Community Bankshares has raised its dividend for 13 consecutive years. First Community Bankshares is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Do analysts prefer BKU or FCBC?

BankUnited currently has a consensus target price of $42.60, suggesting a potential upside of 7.00%. First Community Bankshares has a consensus target price of $38.00, suggesting a potential downside of 7.74%. Given BankUnited's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe BankUnited is more favorable than First Community Bankshares.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
BankUnited	1 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	3 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 BKU or FCBC?

BankUnited received 159 more outperform votes than First Community Bankshares when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 58.29% of users gave First Community Bankshares an outperform vote while only 55.35% of users gave BankUnited an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
BankUnited	Outperform Votes 398 55.35%	Underperform Votes 321 44.65%
First Community Bankshares	Outperform Votes 239 58.29%	Underperform Votes 171 41.71%

Which has stronger earnings and valuation, BKU or FCBC?

BankUnited has higher revenue and earnings than First Community Bankshares. First Community Bankshares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than BankUnited, 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
BankUnited	$1.94B	1.53	$178.67M	$2.44	16.32
First Community Bankshares	$174.62M	4.31	$48.02M	$2.79	14.76

Which has more risk and volatility, BKU or FCBC?

BankUnited has a beta of 1.38, indicating that its stock price is 38% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Community Bankshares has a beta of 0.58, indicating that its stock price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of BKU or FCBC?

99.7% of BankUnited shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 35.0% of First Community Bankshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.2% of BankUnited shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.7% of First Community Bankshares shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

First Community Bankshares beats BankUnited on 12 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.