First Bancorp, Inc (ME) (FNLC) Competitors

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) and First Bancorp, Inc (ME) (NASDAQ:FNLC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, profitability, institutional ownership, media sentiment, dividends, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Is PEBO or FNLC a better dividend stock?

Peoples Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.8%. First Bancorp, Inc (ME) pays an annual dividend of $1.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.0%. Peoples Bancorp pays out 56.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Bancorp, Inc (ME) pays out 55.2% 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 has raised its dividend for 10 consecutive years and First Bancorp, Inc (ME) has raised its dividend for 6 consecutive years. First Bancorp, Inc (ME) is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Is PEBO or FNLC more profitable?

First Bancorp, Inc (ME) has a net margin of 17.39% compared to Peoples Bancorp's net margin of 16.88%. First Bancorp, Inc (ME)'s return on equity of 11.70% beat Peoples Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Peoples Bancorp	16.88%	9.52%	1.16%
First Bancorp, Inc (ME)	17.39%	11.70%	0.95%

Which has higher valuation and earnings, PEBO or FNLC?

Peoples Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than First Bancorp, Inc (ME). First Bancorp, Inc (ME) is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Peoples 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
Peoples Bancorp	$449.57M	2.23	$117.21M	$2.92	9.64
First Bancorp, Inc (ME)	$87.09M	3.19	$27.05M	$2.68	9.25

Does the media refer more to PEBO or FNLC?

In the previous week, Peoples Bancorp had 9 more articles in the media than First Bancorp, Inc (ME). MarketBeat recorded 10 mentions for Peoples Bancorp and 1 mentions for First Bancorp, Inc (ME). Peoples Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 1.33 beat First Bancorp, Inc (ME)'s score of 1.11 indicating that Peoples Bancorp is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Peoples Bancorp	5 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
First Bancorp, Inc (ME)	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do insiders & institutionals believe in PEBO or FNLC?

60.7% of Peoples Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 40.4% of First Bancorp, Inc (ME) shares are held by institutional investors. 3.4% of Peoples Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.1% of First Bancorp, Inc (ME) shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Which has more volatility & risk, PEBO or FNLC?

Peoples Bancorp has a beta of 0.65, meaning that its stock price is 35% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Bancorp, Inc (ME) has a beta of 0.54, meaning that its stock price is 46% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts prefer PEBO or FNLC?

Peoples Bancorp presently has a consensus price target of $35.25, suggesting a potential upside of 25.18%. Given Peoples Bancorp's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Peoples Bancorp is more favorable than First Bancorp, Inc (ME).

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Peoples Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50
First Bancorp, Inc (ME)	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00

Summary

Peoples Bancorp beats First Bancorp, Inc (ME) on 13 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.