Reviewing Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC) and First United (NASDAQ:FUNC)

Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC) and First United (NASDAQ:FUNC) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends and valuation.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Nicolet Bankshares and First United, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Nicolet Bankshares	1	0	5	0	2.67
First United	0	0	2	0	3.00

Nicolet Bankshares presently has a consensus target price of $176.50, indicating a potential upside of 28.33%. First United has a consensus target price of $44.50, indicating a potential upside of 12.03%. Given Nicolet Bankshares’ higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Nicolet Bankshares is more favorable than First United.

Profitability

This table compares Nicolet Bankshares and First United’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Nicolet Bankshares	21.89%	11.48%	1.59%
First United	20.55%	13.39%	1.31%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

43.1% of Nicolet Bankshares shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 33.3% of First United shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.2% of Nicolet Bankshares shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 8.1% of First United shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Nicolet Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $1.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. First United pays an annual dividend of $1.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Nicolet Bankshares pays out 16.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First United pays out 26.6% 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. Nicolet Bankshares has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years and First United has increased its dividend for 6 consecutive years. First United is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Nicolet Bankshares and First United”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Nicolet Bankshares	$556.52 million	5.25	$150.69 million	$8.53	16.12
First United	$121.42 million	2.11	$24.51 million	$3.91	10.16

Nicolet Bankshares has higher revenue and earnings than First United. First United is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Nicolet Bankshares, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

Nicolet Bankshares has a beta of 0.67, meaning that its share price is 33% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First United has a beta of 0.53, meaning that its share price is 47% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Nicolet Bankshares beats First United on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Nicolet Bankshares

Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Nicolet National Bank that provides banking products and services for businesses and individuals in Wisconsin and Michigan. The company accepts checking, savings, and money market accounts; various certificates of deposit; and individual retirement accounts. It also offers commercial loans, including commercial, industrial, and business loans and lines of credit; commercial real estate loans; agricultural (AG) production and AG real estate loans; commercial real estate investment real estate loans; construction and land development loans; residential real estate loans, such as residential first lien and junior lien mortgages, home equity loans, lines of credit, and residential construction loans; and consumer loans. In addition, the company provides cash management, international banking, personal brokerage, safe deposit boxes, and trust and fiduciary services, as well as wealth management and retirement plan services. Further, it offers mortgage refinancing; online services, such as commercial, retail, and trust online banking; automated bill payment, mobile banking deposits and account access, and remote deposit capture services; and other services consisting of wire transfers, debit cards, credit cards, pre-paid gift cards, direct deposits, and official bank checks, as well as facilitates crop insurance products. The company was formerly known as Green Bay Financial Corporation and changed its name to Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. in March 2002. The company was incorporated in 2000 and is headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

About First United

First United Corporation operates as the bank holding company for First United Bank & Trust that provides various retail and commercial banking services to businesses and individuals. It offers various deposit products, which includes checking, savings, money market deposit, and regular and individual retirement accounts (IRAs), as well as certificates of deposit. The company loan portfolio includes commercial loans secured by real estate, commercial equipment, vehicles, or other assets of the borrower; commercial real estate loans for residential and commercial development, agricultural purpose properties, and service industry buildings, such as restaurants and motels, retail buildings, and general purpose business space; residential mortgage loans; home equity lines of credit; residential real estate construction loans; and indirect and direct auto loans, student loans, and other secured and unsecured lines of credit and term loans. It also offers access to multi-million-dollar certificates of deposit and the Intrafi cash service, including multi-million-dollar savings and demand deposits to municipalities, businesses, and consumers; and treasury management, cash sweep, and various checking services. In addition, the company provides trust services, which includes personal trust, investment agency accounts, charitable trusts, retirement accounts, including IRA roll-overs, 401(k) accounts and defined benefit plans, estate administration, and estate planning; and insurance products, brokerage services, and safe deposit and night depository facilities. First United Corporation was founded in 1900 and is headquartered in Oakland, Maryland.