Head-To-Head Contrast: First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) versus Princeton Bancorp (NASDAQ:BPRN)

Princeton Bancorp (NASDAQ:BPRN) and First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability and dividends.

Dividends

Princeton Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.2%. First Commonwealth Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.54 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Princeton Bancorp pays out 51.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Commonwealth Financial pays out 37.0% 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 raised its dividend for 9 consecutive years.

Risk & Volatility

Princeton Bancorp has a beta of 0.52, meaning that its share price is 48% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Commonwealth Financial has a beta of 0.79, meaning that its share price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Princeton Bancorp and First Commonwealth Financial”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Princeton Bancorp	$139.02 million	1.62	$18.47 million	$2.72	12.22
First Commonwealth Financial	$522.91 million	3.37	$152.30 million	$1.46	11.81

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

43.4% of Princeton Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 72.6% of First Commonwealth Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 23.0% of Princeton Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.2% of First Commonwealth Financial shares are held by company 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.

Profitability

This table compares Princeton Bancorp and First Commonwealth Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Princeton Bancorp	N/A	N/A	N/A
First Commonwealth Financial	20.88%	10.43%	1.30%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Princeton Bancorp and First Commonwealth Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Princeton Bancorp	1	1	1	1	2.50
First Commonwealth Financial	0	3	4	0	2.57

Princeton Bancorp currently has a consensus target price of $37.50, suggesting a potential upside of 12.85%. First Commonwealth Financial has a consensus target price of $19.75, suggesting a potential upside of 14.55%. Given First Commonwealth Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe First Commonwealth Financial is more favorable than Princeton Bancorp.

Summary

First Commonwealth Financial beats Princeton Bancorp on 13 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Princeton Bancorp

Princeton Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for The Bank of Princeton that provides various banking products and services. It accepts various deposit products, including checking, savings, attorney trust, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company also offers traditional retail banking services, one-to-four-family residential mortgage loans, multi-family and commercial mortgage loans, construction loans, and commercial business loans, as well as consumer loans, including home equity loans and lines of credit. In addition, it provides debit and credit cards, and money orders, direct deposit, automated teller machines, cashier's checks, safe deposit boxes, online banking, wire transfers, night depository, remote deposit capture, bank-by-mail, online, and automated telephone banking services, as well as payroll-related services and merchant credit card processing services. Further, the company offers full on-line statements, on-line bill payment, account inquiries, mobile banking, transaction histories and details, and account-to-account transfer services. Princeton Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey.

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.