Reviewing First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) and U.S.A Bank (OTCMKTS:USBK)

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for First Bank and U.S.A Bank, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Bank	0	0	1	0	3.00
U.S.A Bank	0	0	0	0	0.00

First Bank currently has a consensus target price of $17.00, suggesting a potential upside of 13.33%. Given First Bank’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe First Bank is more favorable than U.S.A Bank.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares First Bank and U.S.A Bank”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Bank	$173.30 million	1.69	$20.90 million	$1.59	9.43
U.S.A Bank	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

First Bank has higher revenue and earnings than U.S.A Bank.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Bank	18.19%	11.80%	1.25%
U.S.A Bank	N/A	N/A	N/A

Volatility & Risk

First Bank has a beta of 0.94, meaning that its stock price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, U.S.A Bank has a beta of -24.99, meaning that its stock price is 2,599% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

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

Summary

First Bank beats U.S.A Bank on 9 of the 9 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 U.S.A Bank

As of July 10, 2010, U.S.A Bank was acquired by Customers Bank (Phoenixville, Pennsylvania). U.S.A Bank operates as a community bank in New York. It offers deposit products, Internet banking, ATM cards, consumer loans, and residential and commercial loans. U.S.A Bank was founded in 2005 and is based in Port Chester, New York.