Southern States Bancshares (NASDAQ:SSBK – Get Free Report) and First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC – Get Free Report) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability and risk.
Profitability
This table compares Southern States Bancshares and First Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Southern States Bancshares | 27.04% | 15.82% | 1.37% |
| First Bancorp | 25.25% | 10.49% | 1.06% |
Institutional & Insider Ownership
48.3% of Southern States Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 67.0% of First Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 14.8% of Southern States Bancshares shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.7% of First Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Earnings & Valuation
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Southern States Bancshares | $93.89 million | 2.10 | $27.07 million | $3.76 | 5.95 |
| First Bancorp | $408.94 million | 2.96 | $146.94 million | $3.22 | 9.15 |
First Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Southern States Bancshares. Southern States Bancshares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than First Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Southern States Bancshares and First Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Southern States Bancshares | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
| First Bancorp | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.50 |
Southern States Bancshares currently has a consensus target price of $26.00, suggesting a potential upside of 16.23%. First Bancorp has a consensus target price of $41.00, suggesting a potential upside of 39.12%. Given First Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe First Bancorp is more favorable than Southern States Bancshares.
Dividends
Southern States Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. First Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Southern States Bancshares pays out 9.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Bancorp pays out 27.3% 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 raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years. First Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Summary
First Bancorp beats Southern States Bancshares on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Southern States Bancshares
Southern States Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Southern States Bank that provides community banking services to businesses and individuals. It offers various deposit products, such as savings, money market, and noninterest-bearing demand accounts; certificates of deposit; and time deposits. The company also provides real estate loan products, including loans for real estate construction and development, residential mortgages, and commercial real estate mortgage loans; commercial and industrial loans; and direct consumer installment loans, overdrafts, and other revolving credit loans. In addition, it offers online and mobile banking, and ATM services. The company was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Anniston, Alabama.
About First Bancorp
First Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for First Bank that provides banking products and services for individuals and small to medium-sized businesses. It accepts deposit products, such as checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as time deposits, including certificate of deposits and individual retirement accounts. The company also offers loans for a range of consumer and commercial purposes comprising loans for business, real estate, personal, home improvement, and automobiles, as well as residential mortgages and small business administration loans; and accounts receivable financing and factoring, inventory financing, and purchase order financing services. In addition, it provides credit and debit cards, letter of credits, and safe deposit box rental services, as well as electronic funds transfer services consisting of wire transfers; and internet and mobile banking, cash management, bank-by-phone services, and remote deposit capture services. Further, the company offers investment and insurance products, such as mutual funds, annuities, long-term care insurance, life insurance, and company retirement plans, as well as property and casualty insurance products; and financial planning services. First Bancorp was founded in 1934 and is headquartered in Southern Pines, North Carolina.
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