First Bancorp (FNLC) Competitors

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

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, FNLC or PEBO?

Peoples Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than First Bancorp. Peoples Bancorp 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	$80.50M	3.19	$27.05M	$2.42	9.48
Peoples Bancorp	$443.83M	2.23	$117.21M	$3.31	8.37

Does the media prefer FNLC or PEBO?

In the previous week, Peoples Bancorp had 6 more articles in the media than First Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 6 mentions for Peoples Bancorp and 0 mentions for First Bancorp. First Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 1.87 beat Peoples Bancorp's score of 1.53 indicating that First Bancorp is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
First Bancorp	Very Positive
Peoples Bancorp	Very Positive

Which has more risk and volatility, FNLC or PEBO?

First Bancorp has a beta of 0.48, indicating that its stock price is 52% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Peoples Bancorp has a beta of 0.63, indicating that its stock price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is FNLC or PEBO more profitable?

Peoples Bancorp has a net margin of 18.90% compared to First Bancorp's net margin of 16.37%. Peoples Bancorp's return on equity of 11.07% beat First Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Bancorp	16.37%	10.90%	0.88%
Peoples Bancorp	18.90%	11.07%	1.31%

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in FNLC or PEBO?

Peoples Bancorp received 83 more outperform votes than First Bancorp when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 62.30% of users gave First Bancorp an outperform vote while only 56.06% of users gave Peoples Bancorp an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
First Bancorp	Outperform Votes 190 62.30%	Underperform Votes 115 37.70%
Peoples Bancorp	Outperform Votes 273 56.06%	Underperform Votes 214 43.94%

Is FNLC or PEBO a better dividend stock?

First Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.3%. Peoples Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.8%. First Bancorp pays out 59.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Peoples Bancorp pays out 48.3% 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.

Do institutionals & insiders believe in FNLC or PEBO?

40.4% of First Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 60.7% of Peoples Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.1% of First Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.4% of Peoples Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Do analysts recommend FNLC or PEBO?

Peoples Bancorp has a consensus target price of $38.38, suggesting a potential upside of 38.59%. Given Peoples Bancorp's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Peoples Bancorp is more favorable than First Bancorp.

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

Summary

Peoples Bancorp beats First Bancorp on 14 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.