Head to Head Survey: FVCBankcorp (NASDAQ:FVCB) & First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA)

FVCBankcorp (NASDAQ:FVCB) and First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, earnings, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

43.6% of FVCBankcorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 64.9% of First Bank shares are held by institutional investors. 14.0% of FVCBankcorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 13.1% of First Bank shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for FVCBankcorp and First Bank, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
FVCBankcorp	0	0	0	0	N/A
First Bank	0	0	1	0	3.00

First Bank has a consensus price target of $18.00, indicating a potential upside of 23.97%. Given First Bank’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe First Bank is more favorable than FVCBankcorp.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
FVCBankcorp	4.44%	7.16%	0.70%
First Bank	14.48%	12.38%	1.30%

Risk & Volatility

FVCBankcorp has a beta of 0.22, meaning that its share price is 78% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Bank has a beta of 0.93, meaning that its share price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
FVCBankcorp	$43.99 million	5.10	$3.82 million	$0.24	51.96
First Bank	$120.30 million	2.36	$20.90 million	$1.13	12.85

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

Summary

First Bank beats FVCBankcorp on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About FVCBankcorp

FVCBankcorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for FVCbank that provides various banking products and services in Virginia. It offers deposit products, including interest and noninterest-bearing transaction accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit. The company also provides commercial real estate loans; commercial construction loans; commercial loans for various business purposes, such as for working capital, equipment purchases, lines of credit, and government contract financing; small business administration loans; asset-based loans and accounts receivable financing; home equity loans; and consumer loans. In addition, it offers business and consumer credit cards; merchant services; business insurance products; and online banking, remote deposit, and mobile banking services. The company serves commercial businesses, nonprofit organizations, professional service entities, and their respective owners and employees located in the greater Washington, D.C., and Baltimore metropolitan areas. It operates branch offices in Arlington, Virginia; the independent city of Manassas, Virginia; Reston, Fairfax County, Virginia; Springfield, Fairfax County in Virginia; and Montgomery County and Baltimore in Maryland, and Washington, D.C. FVCBankcorp, Inc. was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia.

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.