Prime Meridian (OTCMKTS:PMHG) and First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) Financial Survey

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) and Prime Meridian (OTCMKTS:PMHG) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends and institutional ownership.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for First Citizens BancShares and Prime Meridian, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Citizens BancShares	0	4	7	0	2.64
Prime Meridian	0	0	0	0	N/A

First Citizens BancShares currently has a consensus price target of $1,920.82, suggesting a potential upside of 1.20%. Given First Citizens BancShares’ higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe First Citizens BancShares is more favorable than Prime Meridian.

Dividends

First Citizens BancShares pays an annual dividend of $6.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.3%. Prime Meridian pays an annual dividend of $0.25 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. First Citizens BancShares pays out 3.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Prime Meridian pays out 10.0% 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 Citizens BancShares has increased its dividend for 7 consecutive years.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

61.2% of First Citizens BancShares shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 11.8% of Prime Meridian shares are owned by institutional investors. 13.4% of First Citizens BancShares shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 25.9% of Prime Meridian shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

First Citizens BancShares has a beta of 0.82, suggesting that its share price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Prime Meridian has a beta of 0.51, suggesting that its share price is 49% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares First Citizens BancShares and Prime Meridian’s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Citizens BancShares	$12.09 billion	2.30	$11.47 billion	$180.13	10.64
Prime Meridian	$41.82 million	1.89	$8.71 million	$2.50	9.60

First Citizens BancShares has higher revenue and earnings than Prime Meridian. Prime Meridian is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than First Citizens BancShares, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares First Citizens BancShares and Prime Meridian’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Citizens BancShares	18.19%	14.84%	1.41%
Prime Meridian	16.71%	9.58%	0.89%

Summary

First Citizens BancShares beats Prime Meridian on 14 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About First Citizens BancShares

First Citizens BancShares, Inc. operates as the holding company for First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company that provides retail and commercial banking services to individuals, businesses, and professionals. The company's deposit products include checking, savings, money market, and time deposit accounts. Its loan product portfolio comprises commercial construction and mortgage; and commercial and industrial leases, as well as small business administration loans. In addition, the company offers consumer loans, such as residential and revolving mortgage, consumer auto, and other consumer loans. Further, it provides wealth management services, including annuities, brokerage services, and third-party mutual funds, as well as investment management and advisory services. The company provides its products and services through its branch network. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. was founded in 1898 and is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina.

About Prime Meridian

Prime Meridian Holding Company operates as the bank holding company for Prime Meridian Bank that provides various consumer and commercial banking services to individuals and businesses. The company accepts various deposits, such as checking, money market, savings, term certificate of deposit, demand interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing, health savings, NOW, and escrow accounts, as well as retirement savings plans and time deposits. Its loan products include commercial real estate, residential real estate and home equity, small business administration, construction, equipment, and commercial loans; and consumer and other loans comprising financing of automobiles, boats, and recreational vehicles, as well as issues standby letters and business lines of credit. The company also offers debit and credit cards; mobile banking, remote and mobile deposit, Apple Pay, bank-to-bank transfer, and online banking services; and safe deposit, wire transfer, foreign exchange, direct deposits, notary, night depository, official checks, domestic collections, bank drafts, automated teller services, drive-in tellers, merchant card, and banking by mail services, as well as invests in securities. Prime Meridian Holding Company was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Tallahassee, Florida.