Jeffersonville Bancorp (OTCMKTS:JFBC – Get Rating) and First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNLC – Get Rating) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and dividends.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Jeffersonville Bancorp and First Bancorp’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Jeffersonville Bancorp | $27.45 million | 3.00 | $9.30 million | $2.40 | 8.13 |
| First Bancorp | $91.23 million | 3.14 | $38.99 million | $3.37 | 7.67 |
First Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Jeffersonville Bancorp. First Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Jeffersonville Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Jeffersonville Bancorp | N/A | 14.79% | 1.47% |
| First Bancorp | 31.67% | 16.47% | 1.37% |
Institutional and Insider Ownership
40.2% of First Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.4% of Jeffersonville Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.0% of First Bancorp shares are owned by company 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
Jeffersonville Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. First Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.3%. Jeffersonville Bancorp pays out 25.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Bancorp pays out 40.4% 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. First Bancorp has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years. First Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Jeffersonville Bancorp and First Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Jeffersonville Bancorp | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A |
| First Bancorp | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A |
Risk & Volatility
Jeffersonville Bancorp has a beta of 0.4, suggesting that its stock price is 60% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Bancorp has a beta of 0.51, suggesting that its stock price is 49% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
First Bancorp beats Jeffersonville Bancorp on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Jeffersonville Bancorp
Jeffersonville Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for Jeff Bank that provides community banking services to individuals, small businesses, and local municipal governments primarily in Sullivan County, New York. The company offers various deposit products, such as checking, money market, savings, and NOW, as well as demand and time deposits. It also offers commercial mortgage, farmland, construction, real estate, agricultural, residential mortgage, home equity, installment, debt restructures, and other consumer loans. The company was founded in 1913 and is based in Jeffersonville, New York.
About First Bancorp
The First Bancorp, Inc. (Maine) is a bank holding company, which engages in the provision of financial services. It offers time and savings deposits, lending, automated teller machine processing, investment management, and trust services. The company was founded on January 15, 1985 and is headquartered in Damariscotta, ME.
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