First Bancorp, Inc (ME) (FNLC) Competitors

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) and First Bancorp, Inc (ME) (NASDAQ:FNLC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, media sentiment, profitability and earnings.

Do analysts prefer PEBO or FNLC?

Peoples Bancorp presently has a consensus target price of $35.25, suggesting a potential upside of 25.18%. Given Peoples Bancorp's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Peoples Bancorp is more favorable than First Bancorp, Inc (ME).

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Peoples Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50
First Bancorp, Inc (ME)	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00

Which has stronger earnings & valuation, PEBO or FNLC?

Peoples Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than First Bancorp, Inc (ME). First Bancorp, Inc (ME) is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Peoples 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
Peoples Bancorp	$620.14M	1.62	$117.21M	$2.92	9.64
First Bancorp, Inc (ME)	$165.19M	1.68	$27.05M	$2.68	9.25

Does the media favor PEBO or FNLC?

In the previous week, Peoples Bancorp had 7 more articles in the media than First Bancorp, Inc (ME). MarketBeat recorded 8 mentions for Peoples Bancorp and 1 mentions for First Bancorp, Inc (ME). Peoples Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 1.33 beat First Bancorp, Inc (ME)'s score of 1.11 indicating that Peoples Bancorp is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Peoples Bancorp	5 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
First Bancorp, Inc (ME)	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do institutionals and insiders believe in PEBO or FNLC?

60.7% of Peoples Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 40.4% of First Bancorp, Inc (ME) shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.4% of Peoples Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 5.1% of First Bancorp, Inc (ME) shares are owned by 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.

Which has more volatility & risk, PEBO or FNLC?

Peoples Bancorp has a beta of 0.67, suggesting that its share price is 33% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Bancorp, Inc (ME) has a beta of 0.56, suggesting that its share price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is PEBO or FNLC more profitable?

First Bancorp, Inc (ME) has a net margin of 17.39% compared to Peoples Bancorp's net margin of 16.88%. First Bancorp, Inc (ME)'s return on equity of 11.70% beat Peoples Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Peoples Bancorp	16.88%	9.52%	1.16%
First Bancorp, Inc (ME)	17.39%	11.70%	0.95%

Is PEBO or FNLC a better dividend stock?

Peoples Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.8%. First Bancorp, Inc (ME) pays an annual dividend of $1.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.0%. Peoples Bancorp pays out 56.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Bancorp, Inc (ME) pays out 55.2% 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. Peoples Bancorp has raised its dividend for 10 consecutive years and First Bancorp, Inc (ME) has raised its dividend for 6 consecutive years. First Bancorp, Inc (ME) is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Peoples Bancorp beats First Bancorp, Inc (ME) on 13 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.