Bank First (NASDAQ:BFC – Get Rating) and First United (NASDAQ:FUNC – Get Rating) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, valuation, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership and dividends.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
22.8% of Bank First shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 31.6% of First United shares are held by institutional investors. 5.7% of Bank First shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 7.9% of First United shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Bank First and First United, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Bank First | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
| First United | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.00 |
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Bank First and First United’s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Bank First | $136.38 million | 6.20 | $45.21 million | $5.33 | 15.27 |
| First United | $80.30 million | 1.12 | $25.05 million | $3.55 | 3.78 |
Bank First has higher revenue and earnings than First United. First United is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Bank First, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Dividends
Bank First pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. First United pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.0%. Bank First pays out 18.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First United pays out 22.5% 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. Bank First has increased its dividend for 4 consecutive years and First United has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years.
Risk & Volatility
Bank First has a beta of 0.28, indicating that its stock price is 72% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First United has a beta of 0.77, indicating that its stock price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Bank First and First United’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Bank First | 29.75% | 12.28% | 1.51% |
| First United | 28.19% | 16.65% | 1.29% |
Summary
Bank First beats First United on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Bank First
Bank First Corp. is a bank holding company, which engages in the provision of financial products and services to individual and business customers. It offers checking accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, cash management accounts, certificates of deposit, commercial and industrial loans, commercial real estate loans, construction and development loans, residential mortgages, consumer loans, credit cards, online banking, telephone banking, and mobile banking. The company was founded on April 9, 1982 and is headquartered in Manitowoc, WI.
About First United
First United Corp. is a bank holding company, which engages in community banking services. It offers checking, savings, money market deposit accounts, and certificates of deposit, business loans, personal loans, mortgage loans, lines of credit, and consumer-oriented retirement accounts including individual retirement accounts, and employee benefit accounts through its subsidiary. The company was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Oakland, MD.
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