First National (FXNC) Competitors

Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) and First National (NASDAQ:FXNC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their media sentiment, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, community ranking, profitability, risk and dividends.

Does the media refer more to BFST or FXNC?

In the previous week, Business First Bancshares had 20 more articles in the media than First National. MarketBeat recorded 23 mentions for Business First Bancshares and 3 mentions for First National. First National's average media sentiment score of 0.71 beat Business First Bancshares' score of 0.59 indicating that First National is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Business First Bancshares	3 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	8 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
First National	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more volatility & risk, BFST or FXNC?

Business First Bancshares has a beta of 0.75, indicating that its share price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First National has a beta of 0.41, indicating that its share price is 59% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts prefer BFST or FXNC?

Business First Bancshares currently has a consensus target price of $31.00, suggesting a potential upside of 33.22%. First National has a consensus target price of $24.75, suggesting a potential upside of 25.73%. Given Business First Bancshares' stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Business First Bancshares is more favorable than First National.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Business First Bancshares	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
First National	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Is BFST or FXNC a better dividend stock?

Business First Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. First National pays an annual dividend of $0.62 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Business First Bancshares pays out 23.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First National pays out 53.4% 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.

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer BFST or FXNC?

Business First Bancshares received 129 more outperform votes than First National when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 58.41% of users gave Business First Bancshares an outperform vote while only 37.50% of users gave First National an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Business First Bancshares	Outperform Votes 132 58.41%	Underperform Votes 94 41.59%
First National	Outperform Votes 3 37.50%	Underperform Votes 5 62.50%

Is BFST or FXNC more profitable?

Business First Bancshares has a net margin of 14.19% compared to First National's net margin of 7.51%. First National's return on equity of 12.09% beat Business First Bancshares' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Business First Bancshares	14.19%	11.88%	1.05%
First National	7.51%	12.09%	1.01%

Which has better valuation and earnings, BFST or FXNC?

Business First Bancshares has higher revenue and earnings than First National. Business First Bancshares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than First National, 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
Business First Bancshares	$287.57M	2.39	$65.11M	$2.43	9.58
First National	$64.40M	2.75	$6.97M	$1.16	16.97

Do insiders and institutionals believe in BFST or FXNC?

47.3% of Business First Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 33.9% of First National shares are held by institutional investors. 6.5% of Business First Bancshares shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 14.3% of First National shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Business First Bancshares beats First National on 14 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.