CNB Financial (CCNE) Competitors

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) and CNB Financial (NASDAQ:CCNE) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, profitability, community ranking, institutional ownership and media sentiment.

Is FBNC or CCNE a better dividend stock?

First Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. CNB Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. First Bancorp pays out 41.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. CNB Financial pays out 30.9% 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. CNB Financial has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years. CNB Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Do analysts recommend FBNC or CCNE?

First Bancorp presently has a consensus target price of $49.33, suggesting a potential upside of 21.21%. CNB Financial has a consensus target price of $25.75, suggesting a potential upside of 17.90%. Given First Bancorp's higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe First Bancorp is more favorable than CNB Financial.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50
CNB Financial	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

Does the MarketBeat Community favor FBNC or CCNE?

First Bancorp received 131 more outperform votes than CNB Financial when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 62.60% of users gave First Bancorp an outperform vote while only 60.00% of users gave CNB Financial an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
First Bancorp	Outperform Votes 410 62.60%	Underperform Votes 245 37.40%
CNB Financial	Outperform Votes 279 60.00%	Underperform Votes 186 40.00%

Which has more risk & volatility, FBNC or CCNE?

First Bancorp has a beta of 0.86, meaning that its share price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CNB Financial has a beta of 0.63, meaning that its share price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media refer more to FBNC or CCNE?

In the previous week, First Bancorp had 8 more articles in the media than CNB Financial. MarketBeat recorded 9 mentions for First Bancorp and 1 mentions for CNB Financial. CNB Financial's average media sentiment score of 1.87 beat First Bancorp's score of 1.86 indicating that CNB Financial is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
First Bancorp	Very Positive
CNB Financial	Very Positive

Is FBNC or CCNE more profitable?

CNB Financial has a net margin of 14.97% compared to First Bancorp's net margin of 14.19%. CNB Financial's return on equity of 10.24% beat First Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Bancorp	14.19%	8.04%	0.95%
CNB Financial	14.97%	10.24%	0.92%

Do institutionals & insiders believe in FBNC or CCNE?

68.4% of First Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 52.3% of CNB Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.7% of First Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.8% of CNB Financial shares are owned 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.

Which has preferable valuation & earnings, FBNC or CCNE?

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

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Bancorp	$357.72M	4.71	$76.21M	$2.11	19.29
CNB Financial	$224.79M	2.04	$54.58M	$2.33	9.37

Summary

First Bancorp beats CNB Financial on 13 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.