Analyzing Fidelity D&D Bancorp (NASDAQ:FDBC) & First Mid Bancshares (NASDAQ:FMBH)

First Mid Bancshares (NASDAQ:FMBH) and Fidelity D&D Bancorp (NASDAQ:FDBC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk and dividends.

Risk and Volatility

First Mid Bancshares has a beta of 0.9, indicating that its share price is 10% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Fidelity D&D Bancorp has a beta of 0.97, indicating that its share price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

First Mid Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Fidelity D&D Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. First Mid Bancshares pays out 27.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Fidelity D&D Bancorp pays out 38.1% 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 Mid Bancshares has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years and Fidelity D&D Bancorp has raised its dividend for 10 consecutive years. Fidelity D&D Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for First Mid Bancshares and Fidelity D&D Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Mid Bancshares	0	1	5	1	3.00
Fidelity D&D Bancorp	0	1	0	0	2.00

First Mid Bancshares currently has a consensus price target of $42.80, indicating a potential upside of 10.79%. Given First Mid Bancshares’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe First Mid Bancshares is more favorable than Fidelity D&D Bancorp.

Profitability

This table compares First Mid Bancshares and Fidelity D&D Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Mid Bancshares	18.77%	10.27%	1.19%
Fidelity D&D Bancorp	19.03%	12.10%	0.97%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

47.6% of First Mid Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 20.0% of Fidelity D&D Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 7.7% of First Mid Bancshares shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 21.0% of Fidelity D&D Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares First Mid Bancshares and Fidelity D&D Bancorp”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Mid Bancshares	$453.67 million	2.04	$78.90 million	$3.65	10.58
Fidelity D&D Bancorp	$88.21 million	2.82	$20.79 million	$4.51	9.57

First Mid Bancshares has higher revenue and earnings than Fidelity D&D Bancorp. Fidelity D&D Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than First Mid Bancshares, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

First Mid Bancshares beats Fidelity D&D Bancorp on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About First Mid Bancshares

First Mid Bancshares, Inc., a financial holding company, provides community banking products and services to commercial, retail, and agricultural customers in the United States. It accepts various deposit products, such as demand deposits, savings accounts, money market deposits, and time deposits. The company’s loan products include commercial real estate, commercial and industrial, agricultural and agricultural real estate, residential real estate, and consumer loans, as well as construction and land development, 1-4 family residential properties, and multifamily residential properties loans; and other loans comprising loans to municipalities to support community projects, such as infrastructure improvements or equipment purchases. It also offers wealth management services, which include estate planning, investment, and farm management and brokerage services for individuals; employee benefit services for businesses; and farm management and brokerage services. In addition, the company provides property and casualty, senior insurance products, and group medical insurance for businesses; and personal lines insurance to individuals. The company was formerly known as First Mid-Illinois Bancshares, Inc. and changed its name to First Mid Bancshares, Inc. in April 2019. First Mid Bancshares, Inc. was founded in 1865 and is headquartered in Mattoon, Illinois.

About Fidelity D&D Bancorp

Fidelity D&D Bancorp, Inc. is a holding company, which engages in the provision of commercial banking services. It operates through the following segments: Commercial and Industrial, Commercial Real Estate, Consumer, and Residential Real Estate. The Commercial and Industrial segment refers to identified historic and/or the projected cash flows of the borrower and secondarily to the underlying collateral provided by the borrower. The Commercial Real Estate segment offers finances purchase of real estate, refinance existing obligations, and/or to provide capital. The Consumer segment includes home equity installment loans and lines of credit. The Residential Real Estate segment operates as a secured first lien position of the borrower’s residential real estate. The company was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Dunmore, PA.