Critical Comparison: 1st Capital Bancorp (OTCMKTS:FISB) and National Bank (NYSE:NBHC)

National Bank (NYSE:NBHC) and 1st Capital Bancorp (OTCMKTS:FISB) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings and risk.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for National Bank and 1st Capital Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
National Bank	0	4	1	0	2.20
1st Capital Bancorp	0	0	0	0	0.00

National Bank presently has a consensus target price of $46.00, indicating a potential upside of 30.35%. Given National Bank’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe National Bank is more favorable than 1st Capital Bancorp.

Profitability

This table compares National Bank and 1st Capital Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
National Bank	19.82%	9.76%	1.25%
1st Capital Bancorp	8.20%	N/A	N/A

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares National Bank and 1st Capital Bancorp”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
National Bank	$405.04 million	3.32	$118.82 million	$2.90	12.17
1st Capital Bancorp	$41.09 million	1.91	$3.54 million	N/A	N/A

National Bank has higher revenue and earnings than 1st Capital Bancorp.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

92.7% of National Bank shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 8.1% of 1st Capital Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.9% of National Bank shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

National Bank has a beta of 0.77, indicating that its stock price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, 1st Capital Bancorp has a beta of 0.64, indicating that its stock price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

National Bank beats 1st Capital Bancorp on 12 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About National Bank

National Bank Holdings Corporation operates as the bank holding company for NBH Bank that provides various banking products and financial services to commercial, business, and consumer clients in the United States. It offers deposit products, including checking, savings, money market, and other deposit accounts, including fixed-rate and fixed maturity time deposits. The company also provides commercial and industrial loans and leases, such as working capital loans, equipment loans, lender finance loans, food and agriculture loans, government and non-profit loans, owner occupied commercial real estate loans, and other commercial loans and leases; non-owner occupied commercial real estate loans consisting of loans on commercial properties, such as office buildings, warehouse/distribution buildings, multi-family, hospitality, and retail buildings; small business administration loans to support small businesses and entrepreneurs; term loans, line of credits, and real estate secured loans; residential real estate loans; and consumer loans. In addition, it offers treasury management solutions comprising online and mobile banking, commercial credit card, wire transfer, automated clearing house, electronic bill payment, lock box, remote deposit capture, merchant processing, cash vault, controlled disbursements, and fraud prevention services, as well as other auxiliary services, including account reconciliation, collections, repurchase accounts, zero balance accounts, and sweep accounts. The company operates through a network of banking centers located in Colorado, the greater Kansas City region, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, and Texas. It also operates ATMs. The company was formerly known as NBH Holdings Corp. and changed its name to National Bank Holdings Corporation in March 2012. The company was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colorado.

About 1st Capital Bancorp

1st Capital Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for 1st Capital Bank that provides various banking products and services for businesses, professionals, real estate investors, family commercial entities, and individuals in the Central Coast region of California. It offers checking, saving, money market, savings, and certificate of deposit accounts, as well as individual retirement and health savings accounts; and other services including debit cards, check orders, and cannabis banking services. The company also provides lending services, which includes business, agriculture, and wine industry lending; commercial real estate and personal loans; and small business administration loans, and government guaranteed lending solutions. In addition, it offers electronic banking services including online services, such as personal and business online banking; and cash management services comprising ACH origination, online wire transfer, positive pay, merchant card, and remote deposit capture services. The company was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Salinas, California.