Critical Review: Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC) versus 1st Colonial Bancorp (OTCMKTS:FCOB)

Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC) and 1st Colonial Bancorp (OTCMKTS:FCOB) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, valuation and earnings.

Volatility & Risk

Nicolet Bankshares has a beta of 0.67, meaning that its stock price is 33% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, 1st Colonial Bancorp has a beta of 0.01, meaning that its stock price is 99% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Nicolet Bankshares and 1st Colonial Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Nicolet Bankshares	1	0	5	0	2.67
1st Colonial Bancorp	0	0	0	0	0.00

Nicolet Bankshares presently has a consensus price target of $176.50, suggesting a potential upside of 20.21%. Given Nicolet Bankshares’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Nicolet Bankshares is more favorable than 1st Colonial Bancorp.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Nicolet Bankshares and 1st Colonial Bancorp”s top-line 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	5.61	$150.69 million	$8.53	17.21
1st Colonial Bancorp	$49.61 million	2.04	$7.30 million	$1.48	13.51

Nicolet Bankshares has higher revenue and earnings than 1st Colonial Bancorp. 1st Colonial Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Nicolet Bankshares, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

43.1% of Nicolet Bankshares shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 13.4% of 1st Colonial Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.2% of Nicolet Bankshares shares are owned 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.

Profitability

This table compares Nicolet Bankshares and 1st Colonial Bancorp’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%
1st Colonial Bancorp	14.71%	10.87%	1.04%

Summary

Nicolet Bankshares beats 1st Colonial Bancorp on 14 of the 14 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 1st Colonial Bancorp

1st Colonial Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for 1st Colonial Community Bank that provides a range of business and consumer financial services in New Jersey. The company offers various deposit products, including savings accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, club accounts, and business and personal checking accounts. It also provides home equity loans, home equity lines of credit, personal and vehicle loans, residential and commercial mortgages, construction loans, business lines of credit, equipment and vehicle financing, real estate loans, working capital line of credit, and business acquisition loans, as well as small business administration loans. In addition, the company offers cash management services comprising remote deposit capture, ACH/wire transfer, night deposit drop, and merchant services; safe deposit boxes; and coin counting, online and mobile banking, debit card, and ATM services. The company was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Mount Laurel, New Jersey.