Comparing Northeast Community Bancorp (NASDAQ:NECB) & First Bancorp, Inc (ME) (NASDAQ:FNLC)

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Northeast Community Bancorp and First Bancorp, Inc (ME), as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Northeast Community Bancorp	0	1	1	1	3.00
First Bancorp, Inc (ME)	0	0	1	0	3.00

Risk and Volatility

Northeast Community Bancorp has a beta of 0.37, indicating that its share price is 63% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Bancorp, Inc (ME) has a beta of 0.52, indicating that its share price is 48% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

53.3% of Northeast Community Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 40.4% of First Bancorp, Inc (ME) shares are held by institutional investors. 7.1% of Northeast Community Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 5.1% of First Bancorp, Inc (ME) shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Northeast Community Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. First Bancorp, Inc (ME) pays an annual dividend of $1.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.3%. Northeast Community Bancorp pays out 24.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Bancorp, Inc (ME) pays out 45.7% 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 raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years and First Bancorp, Inc (ME) has raised its dividend for 6 consecutive years. First Bancorp, Inc (ME) is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Valuation and Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Northeast Community Bancorp	$158.21 million	2.02	$44.41 million	$3.22	7.20
First Bancorp, Inc (ME)	$177.61 million	1.76	$34.39 million	$3.24	8.56

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Northeast Community Bancorp	28.16%	12.62%	2.16%
First Bancorp, Inc (ME)	20.34%	13.09%	1.14%

Summary

Northeast Community Bancorp beats First Bancorp, Inc (ME) on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About First Bancorp, Inc (ME)

The First Bancorp, Inc. operates as the holding company for First National Bank that provides a range of banking products and services to individuals and businesses. It offers various deposit products, including demand, NOW, time, savings, money market, and certificates of deposit accounts. The company also provides commercial loans comprising commercial real estate owner occupied, such as mortgage loans to finance investments in real property such as retail space, offices, industrial buildings, hotels, educational facilities, and other specific or mixed use properties; commercial real estate non-owner occupied loans; commercial construction to finance construction in a mix of owner- and nonowner occupied commercial real estate properties; and commercial and industrial loans, including revolving and term loan for financing working capital and/or capital investment. In addition, it offers commercial multifamily loans; residential real estate term and residential real estate construction loans; loans to municipalities in Maine for capitalized expenditures, construction projects, or tax anticipation notes; home equity revolving and term loans; and personal lines of credit and amortizing loans for various purposes, such as autos, recreational vehicles, debt consolidation, personal expenses, or overdraft protection. Further, the company offers private banking, financial planning, investment management, and trust services to individuals, businesses, non-profit organizations and municipalities; and brokerage, annuity, and various insurance products, as well as payment processing services. It operates through full-service banking offices in Lincoln, Knox, Waldo, Penobscot, Hancock, and Washington counties in the Mid-Coast, Eastern, and Down East regions of Maine. The company was formerly known as First National Lincoln Corporation and changed its name to The First Bancorp, Inc. in April 2008. The First Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1864 and is based in Damariscotta, Maine.