Comparing First Republic Bank (OTCMKTS:FRCB) and KBC Group (OTCMKTS:KBCSY)

KBC Group (OTCMKTS:KBCSY) and First Republic Bank (OTCMKTS:FRCB) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Risk & Volatility

KBC Group has a beta of 1.17, suggesting that its share price is 17% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Republic Bank has a beta of 1.79, suggesting that its share price is 79% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

0.0% of First Republic Bank shares are held by institutional investors. 0.7% of First Republic Bank shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for KBC Group and First Republic Bank, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
KBC Group	0	1	0	0	2.00
First Republic Bank	0	0	0	0	N/A

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares KBC Group and First Republic Bank’s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
KBC Group	$28.05 billion	1.13	$3.68 billion	$4.36	8.69
First Republic Bank	$6.75 billion	0.00	$1.67 billion	7.48	0.00

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

Profitability

This table compares KBC Group and First Republic Bank’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
KBC Group	13.46%	14.44%	0.96%
First Republic Bank	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

KBC Group beats First Republic Bank on 7 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About KBC Group

KBC Group NV, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated bank-insurance services primarily for retail, private banking, small and medium sized enterprises, and mid-cap clients. The company offers demand deposits and savings accounts; home and mortgage loans; consumer finance and SME funding services; credit, investment fund and asset management, and life and non-life insurance; and cash management, payments, trade finance, lease, money market, capital market products, and stockbroking services. It also provides digital and mobile banking services. The company was formerly known as KBC Bank and Insurance Holding Company NV and changed its name to KBC Group NV in March 2005. KBC Group NV was incorporated in 1935 and is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium.

About First Republic Bank

As of May 1, 2023, First Republic Bank went out of business. Previously, First Republic Bank provided private banking, private business banking, and private wealth management services to clients in metropolitan areas in the United States. The company was founded in 1985 and was headquartered in San Francisco, California. First Republic Bank now trades on OTCPK.