Comparing First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) and Truxton (OTCMKTS:TRUX)

Truxton (OTCMKTS:TRUX) and First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability and earnings.

Risk & Volatility

Truxton has a beta of 0.53, suggesting that its share price is 47% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Community has a beta of 0.38, suggesting that its share price is 62% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Truxton and First Community”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Truxton	$92.29 million	2.63	$21.48 million	$7.44	11.29
First Community	$114.00 million	2.35	$19.20 million	$2.47	11.54

Truxton has higher earnings, but lower revenue than First Community. Truxton is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than First Community, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

0.3% of Truxton shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 61.3% of First Community shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.9% of First Community shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Truxton and First Community’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Truxton	23.28%	N/A	N/A
First Community	16.85%	12.71%	0.98%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Truxton and First Community, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Truxton	0	0	0	0	0.00
First Community	0	1	2	0	2.67

First Community has a consensus target price of $34.00, suggesting a potential upside of 19.26%. Given First Community’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe First Community is more favorable than Truxton.

Dividends

Truxton pays an annual dividend of $3.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.2%. First Community pays an annual dividend of $0.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Truxton pays out 47.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Community pays out 25.9% 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 Community has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years.

Summary

First Community beats Truxton on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Truxton

Truxton Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides various banking, investment management, and trust administration services to individuals, businesses, and charitable institutions in the United States. The company offers deposit products, including demand, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit. It also provides lending products, such as residential and commercial real estate mortgages, commercial loans, construction and land development loans, commercial and industrial loans, operating lines of credit, and loans to individual. In addition, the company offers strategic and capital advisory services, business banking, and treasury management services; and insurance products. The company was formerly known as NBT Holdings Inc. and changed its name to Truxton Corporation in May 2013. Truxton Corporation was founded in 2004 and is based in Nashville, Tennessee.

About First Community

First Community Corporation operates as the bank holding company for First Community Bank that provides various commercial and retail banking products and services to small-to-medium sized businesses, professionals, and individuals. The company operates through Commercial and Retail Banking, Mortgage Banking, and Investment Advisory and Non-Deposit segments. Its deposit products include checking, NOW, savings, and individual retirement accounts; and demand deposits, as well as other time deposits, such as daily money market accounts and longer-term certificates of deposit. The company's loan portfolio comprises commercial loans that include secured and unsecured loans for working capital, business expansion, and the purchase of equipment and machinery; consumer loans, including secured and unsecured loans for financing automobiles, home improvements, education, and personal investments; real estate construction and acquisition loans; and fixed and variable rate mortgage loans. It also provides online banking, internet banking, cash management, safe deposit boxes, direct deposit of payroll and social security checks, and automatic drafts for various accounts. In addition, the company offers non-deposit investment products and other investment brokerage services; VISA and MasterCard credit card services; investment advisory services; and insurance services. The company was incorporated in 1994 and is headquartered in Lexington, South Carolina.