Critical Analysis: First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) versus TrustCo Bank Corp NY (NASDAQ:TRST)

TrustCo Bank Corp NY (NASDAQ:TRST) and First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, valuation, risk, profitability, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Dividends

TrustCo Bank Corp NY pays an annual dividend of $1.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. First Commonwealth Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. TrustCo Bank Corp NY pays out 42.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Commonwealth Financial pays out 37.1% 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 Commonwealth Financial has increased its dividend for 9 consecutive years.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for TrustCo Bank Corp NY and First Commonwealth Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
TrustCo Bank Corp NY	0	0	1	0	3.00
First Commonwealth Financial	0	3	3	0	2.50

First Commonwealth Financial has a consensus target price of $20.33, indicating a potential downside of 1.25%. Given First Commonwealth Financial’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe First Commonwealth Financial is more favorable than TrustCo Bank Corp NY.

Volatility & Risk

TrustCo Bank Corp NY has a beta of 0.62, suggesting that its share price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Commonwealth Financial has a beta of 0.74, suggesting that its share price is 26% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares TrustCo Bank Corp NY and First Commonwealth Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
TrustCo Bank Corp NY	22.76%	9.53%	1.01%
First Commonwealth Financial	21.19%	10.56%	1.32%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares TrustCo Bank Corp NY and First Commonwealth Financial”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
TrustCo Bank Corp NY	$278.36 million	3.50	$61.14 million	$3.60	15.47
First Commonwealth Financial	$538.45 million	3.89	$152.30 million	$1.51	13.64

First Commonwealth Financial has higher revenue and earnings than TrustCo Bank Corp NY. First Commonwealth Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than TrustCo Bank Corp NY, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

68.6% of TrustCo Bank Corp NY shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 72.6% of First Commonwealth Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 3.4% of TrustCo Bank Corp NY shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.9% of First Commonwealth Financial shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

First Commonwealth Financial 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 and businesses. The company 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 company 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. It operates through banking offices in Albany, Columbia, Dutchess, Greene, Montgomery, Orange, Putnam, Rensselaer, Rockland, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Ulster, Warren, Washington, and Westchester counties of New York; Brevard, Charlotte, Flagler, Hillsborough, Indian River, Lake, Manatee, Martin, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Polk, Sarasota, Seminole, and Volusia counties in Florida; Bennington County in Vermont; Berkshire County in Massachusetts; and Bergen County in New Jersey, as well as automatic teller machines. The company was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Glenville, New York.

About First Commonwealth Financial

First Commonwealth Financial Corporation, a financial holding company, provides various consumer and commercial banking services in the United States. Its consumer services include personal checking accounts, interest-earning checking accounts, savings and health savings accounts, insured money market accounts, debit cards, investment certificates, fixed and variable rate certificates of deposit, mortgage loans, secured and unsecured installment loans, construction and real estate loans, safe deposit facilities, credit cards, credit lines with overdraft checking protection, IRA accounts, and automated teller machine (atm) services, as well as internet, mobile, and telephone banking services. The company's commercial banking services comprise commercial lending, business checking accounts, online account management services, payroll direct deposits, commercial cash management services, and repurchase agreements, as well as ACH origination services. In addition, it offers various trust and asset management services; auto, home, and business insurance, as well as term life insurance; and annuities, mutual funds, and stock and bond brokerage services through a broker-dealer and insurance brokers. The company was founded in 1934 and is headquartered in Indiana, Pennsylvania.