Head to Head Comparison: First Interstate BancSystem (NASDAQ:FIBK) & Northeast Bank (NASDAQ:NBN)

Northeast Bank (NASDAQ:NBN) and First Interstate BancSystem (NASDAQ:FIBK) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk and valuation.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Northeast Bank and First Interstate BancSystem”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Northeast Bank	$170.62 million	4.00	$58.23 million	$8.99	9.25
First Interstate BancSystem	$1.00 billion	2.78	$226.00 million	$2.11	12.66

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

88.7% of First Interstate BancSystem shares are owned by institutional investors. 14.2% of Northeast Bank shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 8.2% of First Interstate BancSystem shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Northeast Bank pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.0%. First Interstate BancSystem pays an annual dividend of $1.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.0%. Northeast Bank pays out 0.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Interstate BancSystem pays out 89.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Northeast Bank and First Interstate BancSystem, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Northeast Bank	0	1	1	0	2.50
First Interstate BancSystem	2	2	3	0	2.14

Northeast Bank currently has a consensus price target of $97.50, indicating a potential upside of 17.20%. First Interstate BancSystem has a consensus price target of $35.00, indicating a potential upside of 30.99%. Given First Interstate BancSystem’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe First Interstate BancSystem is more favorable than Northeast Bank.

Profitability

This table compares Northeast Bank and First Interstate BancSystem’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Northeast Bank	22.87%	N/A	N/A
First Interstate BancSystem	15.94%	6.92%	0.75%

Risk and Volatility

Northeast Bank has a beta of 0.6, meaning that its share price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Interstate BancSystem has a beta of 0.81, meaning that its share price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

First Interstate BancSystem beats Northeast Bank on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Northeast Bank

Northeast Bank provides banking services to individual and corporate customers in Maine. The company's deposit products include demand deposit, NOW, money market, savings, certificate of deposit, and individual retirement accounts, as well as checking accounts. Its loan portfolio comprises residential mortgage loans; multi-family and other commercial real estate loans; commercial and industrial loans, such as term loans, lines of credit and equipment, and receivables financing; consumer loans comprising mobile home and overdraft, and deposit-secured loans; and small business administration loans. In addition, the company offers telephone banking, online banking and bill payment, mobile banking, cash management, and remote deposit capture services, as well as debit and credit card, ATM, electronic transfer, and check services. Further, it provides various services, such as money market, merchant, and payroll and HR. Northeast Bank was founded in 1872 and is headquartered in Portland, Maine.

About First Interstate BancSystem

First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for First Interstate Bank that provides range of banking products and services in the United States. It offers various traditional depository products, including checking, savings, and time deposits; and repurchase agreements primarily for commercial and municipal depositors. The company also offers real estate loans comprising commercial real estate, construction, residential, agricultural, and other real estate loans; consumer loans comprising direct personal loans, credit card loans and lines of credit, and indirect loans; variable and fixed rate commercial loans for small and medium-sized manufacturing, wholesale, retail, and service businesses for working capital needs and business expansions; and agricultural loans. In addition, it provides a range of trust, employee benefit, investment management, insurance, agency, and custodial services to individuals, businesses, and nonprofit organizations. Further, the company offers marketing, credit review, loan servicing, credit cards issuance and servicing, mortgage loan sales and servicing, indirect consumer loan purchasing and processing, loan collection services, other operational, and specialized staff support services, as well as online and mobile banking services. The company serves individuals, businesses, municipalities, and other entities in various industries, including agriculture, construction, education, governmental services, healthcare, hospitality, housing, professional services, real estate development, retail, technology, tourism, and wholesale trade. First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. was incorporated in 1971 and is headquartered in Billings, Montana.