Critical Analysis: Bank of the James Financial Group (NASDAQ:BOTJ) and First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA)

Bank of the James Financial Group (NASDAQ:BOTJ) and First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, dividends and risk.

Dividends

Bank of the James Financial Group pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. First Citizens BancShares pays an annual dividend of $7.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. Bank of the James Financial Group pays out 21.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Citizens BancShares pays out 4.5% 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.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

18.5% of Bank of the James Financial Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 61.2% of First Citizens BancShares shares are owned by institutional investors. 15.3% of Bank of the James Financial Group shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 13.4% of First Citizens BancShares shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Bank of the James Financial Group and First Citizens BancShares”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Bank of the James Financial Group	$52.23 million	1.28	$8.70 million	$1.84	7.92
First Citizens BancShares	$9.67 billion	3.29	$11.47 billion	$174.55	12.61

First Citizens BancShares has higher revenue and earnings than Bank of the James Financial Group. Bank of the James Financial Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than First Citizens BancShares, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Bank of the James Financial Group and First Citizens BancShares, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Bank of the James Financial Group	0	0	0	0	0.00
First Citizens BancShares	0	4	6	0	2.60

First Citizens BancShares has a consensus target price of $2,025.90, indicating a potential downside of 7.93%. Given First Citizens BancShares’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe First Citizens BancShares is more favorable than Bank of the James Financial Group.

Profitability

This table compares Bank of the James Financial Group and First Citizens BancShares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Bank of the James Financial Group	14.46%	13.36%	0.85%
First Citizens BancShares	17.36%	13.63%	1.33%

Volatility & Risk

Bank of the James Financial Group has a beta of 0.76, meaning that its stock price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Citizens BancShares has a beta of 0.8, meaning that its stock price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

First Citizens BancShares beats Bank of the James Financial Group on 14 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Bank of the James Financial Group

Bank of the James Financial Group, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Bank of the James that provides general retail and commercial banking services to individuals, businesses, associations and organizations, and governmental authorities in Virginia, the United States. It offers checking, savings, individual retirement, and health care saving accounts, as well as other time deposits, including money market accounts and certificates of deposit. The company also provides loans to small- and medium-sized businesses for the purchases of equipment, facilities upgrades, inventory acquisition, and various working capital purposes; commercial and residential construction and development loans; commercial real estate mortgage loans; residential mortgage loans; and secured and unsecured consumer loans, such as lines of credit and overdraft lines of credit, as well as personal, automobile, installment, demand, and home equity loans for personal, family, or household purposes. In addition, it offers other banking services, including safe deposit boxes, traveler's checks, direct deposit of payroll and social security checks, automatic drafts for various accounts, treasury management, and credit card merchant services. Further, the company provides mortgage banking; investment advisory services; securities brokerage and investment services; and telephone and internet banking services comprising online bill pay, as well as acts as an agent for insurance and annuity products. The company was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Lynchburg, Virginia.

About First Citizens BancShares

First Citizens BancShares, Inc. operates as the holding company for First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company that provides retail and commercial banking services to individuals, businesses, and professionals. The company's deposit products include checking, savings, money market, and time deposit accounts. Its loan product portfolio comprises commercial construction and mortgage; and commercial and industrial leases, as well as small business administration loans. In addition, the company offers consumer loans, such as residential and revolving mortgage, consumer auto, and other consumer loans. Further, it provides wealth management services, including annuities, brokerage services, and third-party mutual funds, as well as investment management and advisory services. The company provides its products and services through its branch network. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. was founded in 1898 and is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina.