First National (FXNC) Competitors

First National (NASDAQ:FXNC) and Guaranty Federal Bancshares (NASDAQ:GFED) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, community ranking, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, media sentiment and valuation.

Does the MarketBeat Community favor FXNC or GFED?

Guaranty Federal Bancshares received 176 more outperform votes than First National when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 54.41% of users gave Guaranty Federal Bancshares an outperform vote while only 50.00% of users gave First National an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
First National	Outperform Votes 3 50.00%	Underperform Votes 3 50.00%
Guaranty Federal Bancshares	Outperform Votes 179 54.41%	Underperform Votes 150 45.59%

Do institutionals & insiders believe in FXNC or GFED?

33.9% of First National shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 30.5% of Guaranty Federal Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. 16.5% of First National shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 31.6% of Guaranty Federal Bancshares shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is FXNC or GFED more profitable?

Guaranty Federal Bancshares has a net margin of 19.39% compared to First National's net margin of 8.91%. Guaranty Federal Bancshares' return on equity of 11.33% beat First National's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First National	8.91%	6.62%	0.54%
Guaranty Federal Bancshares	19.39%	11.33%	0.89%

Is FXNC or GFED a better dividend stock?

First National pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Guaranty Federal Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. First National pays out 53.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Guaranty Federal Bancshares pays out 24.6% 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.

Which has more volatility and risk, FXNC or GFED?

First National has a beta of 0.49, suggesting that its stock price is 51% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Guaranty Federal Bancshares has a beta of 0.62, suggesting that its stock price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media refer more to FXNC or GFED?

In the previous week, First National had 5 more articles in the media than Guaranty Federal Bancshares. MarketBeat recorded 5 mentions for First National and 0 mentions for Guaranty Federal Bancshares. First National's average media sentiment score of 0.60 beat Guaranty Federal Bancshares' score of 0.00 indicating that First National is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
First National	Positive
Guaranty Federal Bancshares	Neutral

Which has preferable valuation and earnings, FXNC or GFED?

Guaranty Federal Bancshares has lower revenue, but higher earnings than First National. Guaranty Federal Bancshares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than First National, 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 National	$69.50M	2.15	$9.62M	$1.12	21.25
Guaranty Federal Bancshares	$54.87M	2.51	$10.64M	$2.44	12.88

Do analysts recommend FXNC or GFED?

First National presently has a consensus price target of $21.50, suggesting a potential downside of 9.66%. Given First National's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe First National is more favorable than Guaranty Federal Bancshares.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First National	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
Guaranty Federal Bancshares	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00

Summary

Guaranty Federal Bancshares beats First National on 11 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.