Head-To-Head Review: Northeast Community Bancorp (NASDAQ:NECB) & First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) and Northeast Community Bancorp (NASDAQ:NECB) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, dividends, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

68.4% of First Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 53.2% of Northeast Community Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.0% of First Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 7.1% of Northeast Community Bancorp shares are owned by company 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.

Risk and Volatility

First Bancorp has a beta of 0.8, suggesting that its share price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Northeast Community Bancorp has a beta of 0.36, suggesting that its share price is 64% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares First Bancorp and Northeast Community Bancorp”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Bancorp	$416.70 million	6.23	$111.05 million	$3.22	19.48
Northeast Community Bancorp	$158.21 million	2.38	$44.41 million	$3.12	8.75

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

Profitability

This table compares First Bancorp and Northeast Community Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Bancorp	22.12%	11.31%	1.46%
Northeast Community Bancorp	27.67%	12.00%	2.05%

Dividends

First Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Northeast Community Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. First Bancorp pays out 29.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Northeast Community Bancorp pays out 32.1% 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. Northeast Community Bancorp has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Northeast Community Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for First Bancorp and Northeast Community Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Bancorp	0	3	2	1	2.67
Northeast Community Bancorp	0	2	1	1	2.75

First Bancorp presently has a consensus price target of $68.94, indicating a potential upside of 9.90%. Northeast Community Bancorp has a consensus price target of $29.50, indicating a potential upside of 8.04%. Given First Bancorp’s higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe First Bancorp is more favorable than Northeast Community Bancorp.

Summary

First Bancorp beats Northeast Community Bancorp on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About First Bancorp

First Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for First Bank that provides banking products and services for individuals and small to medium-sized businesses. The company accepts deposit products, such as checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as time deposits, including certificate of deposits and individual retirement accounts. It also offers loans for a range of consumer and commercial purposes comprising loans for business, real estate, personal, home improvement, and automobiles, as well as residential mortgages and small business administration loans; and accounts receivable financing and factoring, inventory financing, and purchase order financing services. In addition, the company provides credit and debit cards, letter of credits, and safe deposit box rental services, as well as electronic funds transfer services consisting of wire transfers; and internet and mobile banking, cash management, bank-by-phone services, and remote deposit capture services. Further, it offers investment and insurance products, such as mutual funds, annuities, long-term care insurance, life insurance, and company retirement plans, as well as property and casualty insurance products; and financial planning services. The company was founded in 1934 and is headquartered in Southern Pines, North Carolina.

About Northeast Community Bancorp

Northeast Community Bancorp, Inc. operates as the holding company for NorthEast Community Bank that provides financial services for individuals and businesses. It accepts various deposit instruments, including checking accounts, money market accounts, regular savings accounts, and non-interest bearing demand accounts, as well as certificates of deposits. The company also offers construction, commercial and industrial, multifamily and mixed-use real estate, non-residential real estate loans, and consumer loans. In addition, it invests in various types of liquid assets, including U.S. Treasury obligations, municipal securities, deposits at the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York, and certificates of deposit of federally insured institutions, as well as securities of various federal agencies, and of state and municipal governments. Further, the company offers financial planning and investment advisory services; and life insurance products and fixed-rate annuities. It operates full-service branches located in Bronx, New York, Orange, Rockland, and Sullivan Counties in New York and Essex, Middlesex, and Norfolk Counties in Massachusetts; and loan production offices located in White Plains, New York, and New City counties in New York and Danvers, Massachusetts. Northeast Community Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1934 and is headquartered in White Plains, New York.