First Republic Bank (OTCMKTS:FRCB) vs. KBC Group (OTCMKTS:KBCSY) Head-To-Head Review

First Republic Bank (OTCMKTS:FRCB) and KBC Group (OTCMKTS:KBCSY) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, risk, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Risk & Volatility

First Republic Bank has a beta of 1.79, indicating that its share price is 79% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, KBC Group has a beta of 1.17, indicating that its share price is 17% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for First Republic Bank and KBC Group, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Republic Bank	0	0	0	0	N/A
KBC Group	0	1	0	0	2.00

Insider and Institutional Ownership

0.0% of First Republic Bank shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.7% of First Republic Bank 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.

Dividends

First Republic Bank pays an annual dividend of 1.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 3,541.0%. KBC Group pays an annual dividend of $0.67 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. First Republic Bank pays out 14.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. KBC Group pays out 15.4% 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. First Republic Bank is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares First Republic Bank and KBC Group’s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Republic Bank	$6.75 billion	0.00	$1.67 billion	7.48	0.00
KBC Group	$28.05 billion	1.13	$3.68 billion	$4.36	8.69

KBC Group has higher revenue and earnings than First Republic Bank. First Republic Bank is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than KBC Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares First Republic Bank and KBC Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Republic Bank	N/A	N/A	N/A
KBC Group	13.46%	14.44%	0.96%

Summary

KBC Group beats First Republic Bank on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About First Republic Bank

As of May 1, 2023, First Republic Bank went out of business. Previously, First Republic Bank provided private banking, private business banking, and private wealth management services to clients in metropolitan areas in the United States. The company was founded in 1985 and was headquartered in San Francisco, California. First Republic Bank now trades on OTCPK.

About KBC Group

KBC Group NV, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated bank-insurance services primarily for retail, private banking, small and medium sized enterprises, and mid-cap clients. The company offers demand deposits and savings accounts; home and mortgage loans; consumer finance and SME funding services; credit, investment fund and asset management, and life and non-life insurance; and cash management, payments, trade finance, lease, money market, capital market products, and stockbroking services. It also provides digital and mobile banking services. The company was formerly known as KBC Bank and Insurance Holding Company NV and changed its name to KBC Group NV in March 2005. KBC Group NV was incorporated in 1935 and is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium.