Critical Analysis: JSB Financial (OTCMKTS:JFWV) and First Bancorp, Inc (ME) (NASDAQ:FNLC)

JSB Financial (OTCMKTS:JFWV) and First Bancorp, Inc (ME) (NASDAQ:FNLC) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership and profitability.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for JSB Financial and First Bancorp, Inc (ME), as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
JSB Financial	0	0	0	0	0.00
First Bancorp, Inc (ME)	0	1	0	0	2.00

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares JSB Financial and First Bancorp, Inc (ME)”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
JSB Financial	N/A	N/A	$4.10 million	$13.66	7.39
First Bancorp, Inc (ME)	$91.10 million	3.17	$27.05 million	$2.81	9.16

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

Dividends

JSB Financial pays an annual dividend of $2.70 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. First Bancorp, Inc (ME) pays an annual dividend of $1.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.8%. JSB Financial pays out 19.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Bancorp, Inc (ME) pays out 52.7% 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 increased its dividend for 6 consecutive years. First Bancorp, Inc (ME) is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Risk & Volatility

JSB Financial has a beta of 0.17, meaning that its share price is 83% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Bancorp, Inc (ME) has a beta of 0.59, meaning that its share price is 41% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

0.1% of JSB Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 40.4% of First Bancorp, Inc (ME) shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.1% of First Bancorp, Inc (ME) shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares JSB Financial and First Bancorp, Inc (ME)’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
JSB Financial	N/A	N/A	N/A
First Bancorp, Inc (ME)	17.94%	12.15%	0.99%

Summary

First Bancorp, Inc (ME) beats JSB Financial on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About JSB Financial

JSB Financial Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Jefferson Security Bank that provides various banking products and services to individuals, agricultural businesses, small and medium-sized businesses, local government entities, and non-profit organizations. It accepts various deposit products, such as checking, savings, money market, individual retirement, overdraft protection, and sweep accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company's loan portfolio includes personal and vehicle, mortgage, construction, commercial, and home equity loans. It also offers ATM, online and mobile banking, bill pay, paperless statements, cash management, remote deposit capture, merchant, and credit and debit card services. The company was founded in 1869 and is headquartered in Shepherdstown, West Virginia.

About First Bancorp, Inc (ME)

The First Bancorp, Inc. operates as the holding company for First National Bank that provides a range of banking products and services to individuals and businesses. It offers various deposit products, including demand, NOW, time, savings, money market, and certificates of deposit accounts. The company also provides commercial loans comprising commercial real estate owner occupied, such as mortgage loans to finance investments in real property such as retail space, offices, industrial buildings, hotels, educational facilities, and other specific or mixed use properties; commercial real estate non-owner occupied loans; commercial construction to finance construction in a mix of owner- and nonowner occupied commercial real estate properties; and commercial and industrial loans, including revolving and term loan for financing working capital and/or capital investment. In addition, it offers commercial multifamily loans; residential real estate term and residential real estate construction loans; loans to municipalities in Maine for capitalized expenditures, construction projects, or tax anticipation notes; home equity revolving and term loans; and personal lines of credit and amortizing loans for various purposes, such as autos, recreational vehicles, debt consolidation, personal expenses, or overdraft protection. Further, the company offers private banking, financial planning, investment management, and trust services to individuals, businesses, non-profit organizations and municipalities; and brokerage, annuity, and various insurance products, as well as payment processing services. It operates through full-service banking offices in Lincoln, Knox, Waldo, Penobscot, Hancock, and Washington counties in the Mid-Coast, Eastern, and Down East regions of Maine. The company was formerly known as First National Lincoln Corporation and changed its name to The First Bancorp, Inc. in April 2008. The First Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1864 and is based in Damariscotta, Maine.