Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (OTCMKTS:FMCB) and F.N.B. (NYSE:FNB) Head to Head Analysis

F.N.B. (NYSE:FNB) and Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (OTCMKTS:FMCB) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings and risk.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

79.3% of F.N.B. shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 5.6% of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.2% of F.N.B. shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 8.0% of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares F.N.B. and Farmers & Merchants Bancorp”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
F.N.B.	$2.23 billion	2.52	$485.00 million	$1.09	14.32
Farmers & Merchants Bancorp	$268.67 million	2.74	$88.31 million	$118.46	8.86

F.N.B. has higher revenue and earnings than Farmers & Merchants Bancorp. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than F.N.B., indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for F.N.B. and Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
F.N.B.	0	1	4	0	2.80
Farmers & Merchants Bancorp	0	0	0	0	0.00

F.N.B. currently has a consensus price target of $18.00, indicating a potential upside of 15.29%. Given F.N.B.’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe F.N.B. is more favorable than Farmers & Merchants Bancorp.

Risk and Volatility

F.N.B. has a beta of 1.01, meaning that its share price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Farmers & Merchants Bancorp has a beta of 0.22, meaning that its share price is 78% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares F.N.B. and Farmers & Merchants Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
F.N.B.	16.29%	8.49%	1.10%
Farmers & Merchants Bancorp	30.25%	15.35%	1.62%

Dividends

F.N.B. pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $18.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. F.N.B. pays out 44.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp pays out 15.7% 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.

Summary

F.N.B. beats Farmers & Merchants Bancorp on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About F.N.B.

F.N.B. Corporation, a bank and financial holding company, provides a range of financial products and services primarily to consumers, corporations, governments, and small- to medium-sized businesses in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Community Banking, Wealth Management, and Insurance. The Community Banking segment offers commercial and consumer banking services, including corporate and small business banking, investment real estate financing, business credit, capital market, and lease financing services. It also provides consumer banking products and services, such as deposit products, mortgage and consumer lending services, and mobile and online banking services. The Wealth Management segment provides personal and corporate fiduciary services comprising administration of decedent and trust estates; and securities brokerage and investment advisory services, mutual funds, and annuities. The Insurance segment comprises commercial and personal insurance, and reinsurance products, as well as mezzanine financing options for small- to medium-sized businesses. The company operates community banking branches in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Washington, D.C., and Virginia. F.N.B. Corporation was founded in 1864 and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

About Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for Farmers & Merchants Bank of Central California that provides various banking services to businesses and individuals. The company accepts various deposit products, including checking, savings, money market, time certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts. It also offers range of lending products comprising commercial and residential real estate, real estate construction, agribusiness, and consumer loans, as well as equipment leases and credit card services; commercial products, including term loans, lines of credit and other working capital financing, and letters of credit; and financing products, such as automobile financing, home improvement, and home equity lines of credit. In addition, the company provides various specialized services consisting of credit card programs for merchants, lockbox and other collection services, account reconciliation, investment sweep, online account access, and electronic funds transfers through domestic and international wire and automated clearinghouse; online banking services; and investment products, such as mutual funds and annuities. The company was founded in 1916 and is headquartered in Lodi, California.