TrustCo Bank Corp NY (NASDAQ:TRST – Get Rating) and First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC – 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 profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation and risk.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
65.3% of TrustCo Bank Corp NY shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 69.4% of First Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 3.3% of TrustCo Bank Corp NY shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.9% of First Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Dividends
TrustCo Bank Corp NY pays an annual dividend of $1.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.8%. First Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. TrustCo Bank Corp NY pays out 36.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Bancorp pays out 24.9% 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. TrustCo Bank Corp NY has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years and First Bancorp has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years.
Profitability
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| TrustCo Bank Corp NY | 34.81% | 12.66% | 1.25% |
| First Bancorp | 29.03% | 11.70% | 1.16% |
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares TrustCo Bank Corp NY and First Bancorp’s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| TrustCo Bank Corp NY | $205.75 million | 2.77 | $75.23 million | $3.97 | 7.55 |
| First Bancorp | $408.94 million | 3.33 | $146.94 million | $3.54 | 9.38 |
First Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than TrustCo Bank Corp NY. TrustCo Bank Corp NY is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than First Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Volatility and Risk
TrustCo Bank Corp NY has a beta of 0.9, meaning that its share price is 10% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Bancorp has a beta of 1.07, meaning that its share price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for TrustCo Bank Corp NY and First Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| TrustCo Bank Corp NY | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.00 |
| First Bancorp | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2.67 |
TrustCo Bank Corp NY currently has a consensus price target of $36.00, suggesting a potential upside of 20.04%. First Bancorp has a consensus price target of $41.33, suggesting a potential upside of 24.50%. Given First Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe First Bancorp is more favorable than TrustCo Bank Corp NY.
Summary
First Bancorp beats TrustCo Bank Corp NY on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
About TrustCo Bank Corp NY
TrustCo Bank Corp NY operates as the holding company for Trustco Bank, a federal savings bank that provides personal and business banking services to individuals, partnerships, and corporations. It accepts deposits and offers loans and investments. It also operates as a real estate investment trust that acquires, holds, and manages real estate mortgage assets, including residential mortgage loans and mortgage-backed securities. In addition, the firm serves as the executor of estates and trustee of personal trusts, provides asset and wealth management, estate planning and related advice, and custodial services, and acts as trustee for various types of employee benefit plans, and corporate pension and profit sharing trusts. The company was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Glenville, NY.
About First Bancorp
First Bancorp (North Carolina) operates as a bank holding company, which engages in banking activities, with the acceptance of deposits and the making of loans. It provides a range of deposit products such as checking, savings, NOW, and money market accounts, as well as time deposits, including various types of certificates of deposits and individual retirement accounts. The company’s offerings include credit cards, debit cards, letters of credit, safe deposit box rentals, bank money orders and electronic funds transfer services, including wire transfers. It also offers loans for a range of consumer and commercial purposes, including loans for business, agriculture, real estate, personal uses, home improvement and automobiles. The company was founded on December 8, 1983 and is headquartered in Southern Pines, NC.
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