First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) versus First Community Bankshares (NASDAQ:FCBC) Head-To-Head Comparison

First Community Bankshares (NASDAQ:FCBC) and First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk and dividends.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for First Community Bankshares and First Citizens BancShares, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Community Bankshares	1	0	0	0	1.00
First Citizens BancShares	0	5	6	0	2.55

First Community Bankshares presently has a consensus target price of $33.00, suggesting a potential downside of 6.83%. First Citizens BancShares has a consensus target price of $1,829.90, suggesting a potential upside of 6.87%. Given First Citizens BancShares’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe First Citizens BancShares is more favorable than First Community Bankshares.

Dividends

First Community Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $1.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. First Citizens BancShares pays an annual dividend of $6.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. First Community Bankshares pays out 42.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Citizens BancShares pays out 3.6% 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 Citizens BancShares has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years.

Profitability

This table compares First Community Bankshares and First Citizens BancShares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Community Bankshares	27.10%	11.09%	1.67%
First Citizens BancShares	18.22%	15.75%	1.45%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares First Community Bankshares and First Citizens BancShares’ gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Community Bankshares	$174.62 million	3.70	$48.02 million	$2.71	12.92
First Citizens BancShares	$12.09 billion	2.07	$11.47 billion	$180.13	9.58

First Citizens BancShares has higher revenue and earnings than First Community Bankshares. First Citizens BancShares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than First Community Bankshares, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

35.0% of First Community Bankshares shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 61.2% of First Citizens BancShares shares are held by institutional investors. 3.7% of First Community Bankshares shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 12.9% of First Citizens BancShares shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk & Volatility

First Community Bankshares has a beta of 0.52, suggesting that its stock price is 48% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Citizens BancShares has a beta of 0.86, suggesting that its stock price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

First Citizens BancShares beats First Community Bankshares on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About First Community Bankshares

First Community Bankshares, Inc. operates as the financial holding company for First Community Bank that provides various banking products and services. It offers demand deposit accounts, savings and money market accounts, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement plans; and commercial, consumer real estate, and consumer and other loans. The company also provides trust management, estate administration, and investment advisory services; and investment management services. It serves individuals and businesses across various industries, such as education, government, and health services; coal mining and gas extraction; retail trade; construction; manufacturing; tourism; and transportation. The company operates through branches in West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee. Community Bankshares, Inc. was founded in 1874 and is headquartered in Bluefield, Virginia.

About First Citizens BancShares

First Citizens BancShares, Inc. operates as the holding company for First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company that provides retail and commercial banking services to individuals, businesses, and professionals. The company's deposit products include checking, savings, money market, and time deposit accounts. Its loan product portfolio comprises commercial construction and mortgage; and commercial and industrial leases, as well as small business administration loans. In addition, the company offers consumer loans, such as residential and revolving mortgage, consumer auto, and other consumer loans. Further, it provides wealth management services, including annuities, brokerage services, and third-party mutual funds, as well as investment management and advisory services. The company provides its products and services through its branch network. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. was founded in 1898 and is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina.