Critical Survey: First Seacoast Bancorp (NASDAQ:FSEA) vs. TriCo Bancshares (NASDAQ:TCBK)

First Seacoast Bancorp (NASDAQ:FSEA) and TriCo Bancshares (NASDAQ:TCBK) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Risk & Volatility

First Seacoast Bancorp has a beta of 0.16, meaning that its stock price is 84% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, TriCo Bancshares has a beta of 0.66, meaning that its stock price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for First Seacoast Bancorp and TriCo Bancshares, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Seacoast Bancorp	0	1	0	0	2.00
TriCo Bancshares	0	5	2	0	2.29

TriCo Bancshares has a consensus target price of $55.62, indicating a potential upside of 5.91%. Given TriCo Bancshares’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe TriCo Bancshares is more favorable than First Seacoast Bancorp.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares First Seacoast Bancorp and TriCo Bancshares”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Seacoast Bancorp	$15.93 million	5.10	-$850,000.00	($0.04)	-431.25
TriCo Bancshares	$538.91 million	3.12	$121.56 million	$4.31	12.19

TriCo Bancshares has higher revenue and earnings than First Seacoast Bancorp. First Seacoast Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than TriCo Bancshares, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

38.4% of First Seacoast Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 59.1% of TriCo Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. 7.8% of First Seacoast Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 4.9% of TriCo 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.

Profitability

This table compares First Seacoast Bancorp and TriCo Bancshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Seacoast Bancorp	0.15%	0.07%	0.01%
TriCo Bancshares	25.10%	10.47%	1.41%

Summary

TriCo Bancshares beats First Seacoast Bancorp on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About First Seacoast Bancorp

First Seacoast Bancorp, Inc. operates as the holding company for First Seacoast Bank that provides commercial and consumer banking services for individuals and businesses. The company offers interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as time deposits. It also provides various lending products comprising one- to four-family residential real estate loans; commercial real estate and multi-family real estate loans; acquisition, development, and land loans; commercial and industrial loans; home equity loans and lines of credit; and consumer loans. In addition, the company offers wealth management services, such as retirement planning, portfolio management, investment and insurance strategies, business retirement plans, and college planning services. The company was founded in 1890 and is headquartered in Dover, New Hampshire. First Seacoast Bancorp, Inc. is a subsidiary of First Seacoast Bancorp, MHC.

About TriCo Bancshares

TriCo Bancshares operates as a bank holding company for Tri Counties Bank that provides commercial banking services to individual and corporate customers. The company accepts demand, savings, and time deposits. It also provides small business loans; real estate mortgage loans, such as residential and commercial loans; consumer loans; mortgage, auto, other vehicle, and personal loans; commercial loans, including agricultural loans; and real estate construction loans. In addition, the company offers treasury management services; credit and debit cards; and other customary banking services, including safe deposit boxes; and independent financial and broker-dealer services. Further, it provides checking, saving, and money market accounts, as well as individual retirement accounts; equipment financing; certificate of deposit account registry service; certificated of deposit; and IntraFi cash service. TriCo Bancshares was founded in 1975 and is headquartered in Chico, California.