First Bancorp, Inc (ME) (FNLC) Competitors

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

Do analysts recommend FNLC or PEBO?

Peoples Bancorp has a consensus price target of $35.25, indicating a potential upside of 16.26%. Given Peoples Bancorp's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Peoples Bancorp is more favorable than First Bancorp, Inc (ME).

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

Which has stronger earnings & valuation, FNLC or PEBO?

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
First Bancorp, Inc (ME)	$86.80M	3.47	$27.05M	$2.68	10.03
Peoples Bancorp	$447.24M	2.42	$117.21M	$2.92	10.38

Is FNLC or PEBO a better dividend stock?

First Bancorp, Inc (ME) pays an annual dividend of $1.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.5%. Peoples Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.4%. First Bancorp, Inc (ME) pays out 55.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Peoples Bancorp pays out 56.2% 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. First Bancorp, Inc (ME) has raised its dividend for 6 consecutive years and Peoples Bancorp has raised its dividend for 10 consecutive years. First Bancorp, Inc (ME) is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Does the media prefer FNLC or PEBO?

In the previous week, Peoples Bancorp had 5 more articles in the media than First Bancorp, Inc (ME). MarketBeat recorded 8 mentions for Peoples Bancorp and 3 mentions for First Bancorp, Inc (ME). First Bancorp, Inc (ME)'s average media sentiment score of 1.59 beat Peoples Bancorp's score of 1.29 indicating that First Bancorp, Inc (ME) is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
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)	Very Positive
Peoples Bancorp	5 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is FNLC or PEBO 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 11.60% beat Peoples Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Bancorp, Inc (ME)	17.39%	11.60%	0.95%
Peoples Bancorp	16.88%	9.46%	1.15%

Which has more volatility & risk, FNLC or PEBO?

First Bancorp, Inc (ME) has a beta of 0.56, suggesting that its stock price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Peoples Bancorp has a beta of 0.67, suggesting that its stock price is 33% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in FNLC or PEBO?

40.4% of First Bancorp, Inc (ME) shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 60.7% of Peoples Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.1% of First Bancorp, Inc (ME) shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.4% of Peoples Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Peoples Bancorp beats First Bancorp, Inc (ME) on 12 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.