Comparing Fvcbankcorp (NASDAQ:FVCB) and Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK)

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) and Fvcbankcorp (NASDAQ:FVCB) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, risk, dividends and earnings.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

43.8% of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 43.6% of Fvcbankcorp shares are held by institutional investors. 16.9% of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 14.0% of Fvcbankcorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina and Fvcbankcorp, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina	0	1	0	0	2.00
Fvcbankcorp	0	2	1	0	2.33

Fvcbankcorp has a consensus price target of $16.00, suggesting a potential upside of 29.45%. Given Fvcbankcorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Fvcbankcorp is more favorable than Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina.

Profitability

This table compares Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina and Fvcbankcorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina	15.11%	12.17%	1.00%
Fvcbankcorp	17.72%	8.85%	0.96%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina and Fvcbankcorp”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina	$74.73 million	2.17	$16.35 million	$3.06	9.70
Fvcbankcorp	$115.85 million	1.93	$15.06 million	$1.16	10.66

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Fvcbankcorp. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Fvcbankcorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Fvcbankcorp pays an annual dividend of $0.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina pays out 26.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Fvcbankcorp pays out 20.7% 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. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Volatility & Risk

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina has a beta of 0.63, suggesting that its stock price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Fvcbankcorp has a beta of 0.42, suggesting that its stock price is 58% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina beats Fvcbankcorp on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Peoples Bank that provides various banking products and services for individuals and small-to medium-sized businesses. It offers checking, savings, money market, and retirement accounts; certificates of deposits; and credit and debit cards. The company also originates commercial real estate loans, commercial loans, construction and land development loans, and residential mortgage loans; and individual taxpayer identification number mortgage loans, as well as agricultural loans. In addition, it provides investment counseling and non-deposit investment products, such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, tax deferred annuities, and related brokerage services; and real estate appraisal and brokerage services. Further, the company operates as a clearing-house for the provision of appraisal services for community banks; and acquires, manages, and disposes real property, other collateral, and other assets obtained in the ordinary course of collecting debts. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. was founded in 1912 and is headquartered in Newton, North Carolina.

About Fvcbankcorp

FVCBankcorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for FVCbank that provides various banking products and services in Virginia. It offers deposit products, including interest and noninterest-bearing transaction accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit. The company also provides commercial real estate loans; commercial construction loans; commercial loans for various business purposes, such as for working capital, equipment purchases, lines of credit, and government contract financing; small business administration loans; asset-based loans and accounts receivable financing; home equity loans; and consumer loans. In addition, it offers business and consumer credit cards; merchant services; business insurance products; and online banking, remote deposit, and mobile banking services. The company serves commercial businesses, nonprofit organizations, professional service entities, and their respective owners and employees located in the greater Washington, D.C., and Baltimore metropolitan areas. It operates branch offices in Arlington, Virginia; the independent city of Manassas, Virginia; Reston, Fairfax County, Virginia; Springfield, Fairfax County in Virginia; and Montgomery County and Baltimore in Maryland, and Washington, D.C. FVCBankcorp, Inc. was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia.