UniCredit (OTCMKTS:UNCRY) & First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) Head-To-Head Review

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) and UniCredit (OTCMKTS:UNCRY) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends, earnings and valuation.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

64.9% of First Bank shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.3% of UniCredit shares are owned by institutional investors. 13.1% of First Bank shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for First Bank and UniCredit, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Bank	0	2	3	0	2.60
UniCredit	0	2	4	2	3.00

First Bank presently has a consensus price target of $19.67, indicating a potential upside of 3.43%. Given First Bank’s higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe First Bank is more favorable than UniCredit.

Risk and Volatility

First Bank has a beta of 0.53, indicating that its stock price is 47% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, UniCredit has a beta of 0.97, indicating that its stock price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Bank	17.45%	9.63%	1.07%
UniCredit	34.34%	20.22%	1.60%

Dividends

First Bank pays an annual dividend of $0.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. UniCredit pays an annual dividend of $1.35 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. First Bank pays out 21.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares First Bank and UniCredit”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Bank	$245.83 million	1.94	$43.66 million	$1.69	11.25
UniCredit	$41.32 billion	3.60	$15.35 billion	N/A	N/A

UniCredit has higher revenue and earnings than First Bank.

Summary

UniCredit beats First Bank on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About First Bank

First Bank provides various banking products and services to small to mid-sized businesses and individuals. The company accepts various deposits, including non-interest-bearing demand deposits, interest bearing demand accounts, money market accounts, savings accounts, and certificates of deposit, as well as commercial checking accounts. It also offers various loan products comprising commercial and industrial loans, which include line of credit, inventory, equipment, and short-term working capital financing; commercial real estate loans, such as owner-occupied, investor, construction and development, and multi-family loans; residential real estate loans comprising residential mortgages, first and second lien home equity loans, and revolving lines of credit; and consumer and other loans consists of auto, personal, traditional installment, and other loans. The company also provides electronic banking services, including Internet and mobile banking, electronic bill payment, and banking by phone; ATM and debit cards, and wire and ACH transfer services; remote deposit capture; and cash management services, as well as engages in the capital markets activities. It operates full-service branches in Cinnaminson, Delanco, Denville, Ewing, Fairfield, Flemington, Hamilton, Lawrence, Monroe, Pennington, Randolph, Somerset, and Williamstown, New Jersey; Doylestown, Trevose, Warminster, and West Chester, Paoli, Malvern, Coventry, Devon, Lionville, and Glen Mills Pennsylvania; and Palm Beach, Florida. First Bank was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in Hamilton, New Jersey.

About UniCredit

UniCredit S.p.A. provides commercial banking services in Italy, Germany, Central Europe, and Eastern Europe. It offers retail, private, and wealth management solutions; and institutional investor solutions. The company also provides corporate finance advisory, rating advisory, financial sponsor, patient capital, capital structure advisory, and finance solutions, as well as securities services. In addition, it offers transactional and risk management, and strategic advisory and funding services; group trade and correspondent banking services; and payments and cash management solutions. The company serves SME, corporate, multinational corporate, financial institution, and public sector clients, as well as retail, private banking, wealth management, and family office clients. The company was founded in 1870 and is headquartered in Milan, Italy.