First United (FUNC) Competitors

First United (NASDAQ:FUNC) and ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, earnings, media sentiment, community ranking and analyst recommendations.

Does the media prefer FUNC or CNOB?

In the previous week, ConnectOne Bancorp had 2 more articles in the media than First United. MarketBeat recorded 3 mentions for ConnectOne Bancorp and 1 mentions for First United. ConnectOne Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 1.88 beat First United's score of 0.43 indicating that ConnectOne Bancorp is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
First United	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
ConnectOne Bancorp	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive

Is FUNC or CNOB a better dividend stock?

First United pays an annual dividend of $0.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. ConnectOne Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. First United pays out 35.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. ConnectOne Bancorp pays out 41.4% 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.

Is FUNC or CNOB more profitable?

First United has a net margin of 14.70% compared to ConnectOne Bancorp's net margin of 13.56%. First United's return on equity of 12.20% beat ConnectOne Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First United	14.70%	12.20%	1.07%
ConnectOne Bancorp	13.56%	6.71%	0.76%

Does the MarketBeat Community favor FUNC or CNOB?

ConnectOne Bancorp received 123 more outperform votes than First United when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 65.09% of users gave First United an outperform vote while only 58.13% of users gave ConnectOne Bancorp an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
First United	Outperform Votes 138 65.09%	Underperform Votes 74 34.91%
ConnectOne Bancorp	Outperform Votes 261 58.13%	Underperform Votes 188 41.87%

Which has stronger earnings and valuation, FUNC or CNOB?

ConnectOne Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than First United. ConnectOne Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than First United, 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 United	$99.49M	2.17	$15.06M	$2.46	13.54
ConnectOne Bancorp	$261.64M	3.38	$87M	$1.74	13.26

Do analysts recommend FUNC or CNOB?

ConnectOne Bancorp has a consensus price target of $28.00, indicating a potential upside of 21.32%. Given ConnectOne Bancorp's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe ConnectOne Bancorp is more favorable than First United.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First United	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00
ConnectOne Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Do institutionals and insiders have more ownership in FUNC or CNOB?

33.3% of First United shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 67.7% of ConnectOne Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.8% of First United shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.4% of ConnectOne Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has more risk and volatility, FUNC or CNOB?

First United has a beta of 0.8, meaning that its stock price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ConnectOne Bancorp has a beta of 1.3, meaning that its stock price is 30% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

ConnectOne Bancorp beats First United on 13 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.