First Capital (FCAP) Competitors

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) and First Capital (NASDAQ:FCAP) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, media sentiment, institutional ownership and risk.

Which has stronger valuation and earnings, ALRS or FCAP?

Alerus Financial has higher revenue and earnings than First Capital. First Capital is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Alerus Financial, 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
Alerus Financial	$336.51M	1.71	$17.78M	$1.69	13.38
First Capital	$46.13M	3.34	$11.94M	$3.94	11.66

Which has more risk & volatility, ALRS or FCAP?

Alerus Financial has a beta of 0.71, suggesting that its stock price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Capital has a beta of 0.65, suggesting that its stock price is 35% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is ALRS or FCAP a better dividend stock?

Alerus Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. First Capital pays an annual dividend of $1.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Alerus Financial pays out 49.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Capital pays out 31.5% 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. Alerus Financial has increased its dividend for 25 consecutive years and First Capital has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Alerus Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in ALRS or FCAP?

51.3% of Alerus Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 11.6% of First Capital shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.2% of Alerus Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.0% of First Capital shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media prefer ALRS or FCAP?

In the previous week, Alerus Financial and Alerus Financial both had 1 articles in the media. Alerus Financial's average media sentiment score of 1.91 equaled First Capital'saverage media sentiment score.

Company	Overall Sentiment
Alerus Financial	Very Positive
First Capital	Very Positive

Do analysts prefer ALRS or FCAP?

Alerus Financial currently has a consensus target price of $25.63, suggesting a potential upside of 13.28%. Given Alerus Financial's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Alerus Financial is more favorable than First Capital.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Alerus Financial	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.25
First Capital	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00

Is ALRS or FCAP more profitable?

First Capital has a net margin of 21.45% compared to Alerus Financial's net margin of 11.06%. First Capital's return on equity of 11.23% beat Alerus Financial's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Alerus Financial	11.06%	10.21%	0.98%
First Capital	21.45%	11.23%	1.10%

Summary

Alerus Financial beats First Capital on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.