Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC) & First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNLC) Head to Head Analysis

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

Risk and Volatility

Nicolet Bankshares has a beta of 0.77, meaning that its stock price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Bancorp has a beta of 0.58, meaning that its stock price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Nicolet Bankshares and First Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Nicolet Bankshares	0	3	2	0	2.40
First Bancorp	0	0	0	0	0.00

Nicolet Bankshares presently has a consensus target price of $119.00, indicating a potential upside of 8.95%. Given Nicolet Bankshares’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Nicolet Bankshares is more favorable than First Bancorp.

Dividends

Nicolet Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $1.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. First Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.7%. Nicolet Bankshares pays out 13.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Bancorp pays out 60.8% 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.

Profitability

This table compares Nicolet Bankshares and First Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Nicolet Bankshares	23.83%	10.95%	1.41%
First Bancorp	16.46%	10.72%	0.87%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

43.1% of Nicolet Bankshares shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 40.4% of First Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 16.4% of Nicolet Bankshares shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 6.0% of First Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Nicolet Bankshares and First Bancorp”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Nicolet Bankshares	$520.63 million	3.19	$61.52 million	$8.03	13.60
First Bancorp	$143.61 million	1.98	$29.52 million	$2.37	10.75

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

Summary

Nicolet Bankshares beats First Bancorp on 15 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Nicolet Bankshares

Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Nicolet National Bank that provides banking products and services for businesses and individuals in Wisconsin and Michigan. The company accepts checking, savings, and money market accounts; various certificates of deposit; and individual retirement accounts. It also offers commercial loans, including commercial, industrial, and business loans and lines of credit; commercial real estate loans; agricultural (AG) production and AG real estate loans; commercial real estate investment real estate loans; construction and land development loans; residential real estate loans, such as residential first lien and junior lien mortgages, home equity loans, lines of credit, and residential construction loans; and consumer loans. In addition, the company provides cash management, international banking, personal brokerage, safe deposit boxes, and trust and fiduciary services, as well as wealth management and retirement plan services. Further, it offers mortgage refinancing; online services, such as commercial, retail, and trust online banking; automated bill payment, mobile banking deposits and account access, and remote deposit capture services; and other services consisting of wire transfers, debit cards, credit cards, pre-paid gift cards, direct deposits, and official bank checks, as well as facilitates crop insurance products. The company was formerly known as Green Bay Financial Corporation and changed its name to Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. in March 2002. The company was incorporated in 2000 and is headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

About First Bancorp

The First Bancorp, Inc. operates as the holding company for First National Bank that provides a range of banking products and services to individuals and businesses. It offers various deposit products, including demand, NOW, time, savings, money market, and certificates of deposit accounts. The company also provides commercial loans comprising commercial real estate owner occupied, such as mortgage loans to finance investments in real property such as retail space, offices, industrial buildings, hotels, educational facilities, and other specific or mixed use properties; commercial real estate non-owner occupied loans; commercial construction to finance construction in a mix of owner- and nonowner occupied commercial real estate properties; and commercial and industrial loans, including revolving and term loan for financing working capital and/or capital investment. In addition, it offers commercial multifamily loans; residential real estate term and residential real estate construction loans; loans to municipalities in Maine for capitalized expenditures, construction projects, or tax anticipation notes; home equity revolving and term loans; and personal lines of credit and amortizing loans for various purposes, such as autos, recreational vehicles, debt consolidation, personal expenses, or overdraft protection. Further, the company offers private banking, financial planning, investment management, and trust services to individuals, businesses, non-profit organizations and municipalities; and brokerage, annuity, and various insurance products, as well as payment processing services. It operates through full-service banking offices in Lincoln, Knox, Waldo, Penobscot, Hancock, and Washington counties in the Mid-Coast, Eastern, and Down East regions of Maine. The company was formerly known as First National Lincoln Corporation and changed its name to The First Bancorp, Inc. in April 2008. The First Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1864 and is based in Damariscotta, Maine.