Contrasting First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) and Oak Ridge Financial Services (OTCMKTS:BKOR)

Oak Ridge Financial Services (OTCMKTS:BKOR) and First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, earnings, valuation and institutional ownership.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Oak Ridge Financial Services and First Citizens BancShares, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Oak Ridge Financial Services	0	0	0	0	0.00
First Citizens BancShares	0	6	6	1	2.62

First Citizens BancShares has a consensus target price of $2,250.55, suggesting a potential upside of 5.94%. Given First Citizens BancShares’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe First Citizens BancShares is more favorable than Oak Ridge Financial Services.

Profitability

This table compares Oak Ridge Financial Services and First Citizens BancShares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Oak Ridge Financial Services	16.38%	N/A	N/A
First Citizens BancShares	15.99%	11.09%	1.03%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Oak Ridge Financial Services and First Citizens BancShares”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Oak Ridge Financial Services	$41.04 million	1.99	$5.67 million	$2.63	11.31
First Citizens BancShares	$14.97 billion	1.77	$2.78 billion	$169.12	12.56

First Citizens BancShares has higher revenue and earnings than Oak Ridge Financial Services. Oak Ridge Financial Services is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than First Citizens BancShares, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Oak Ridge Financial Services pays an annual dividend of $0.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. First Citizens BancShares pays an annual dividend of $8.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. Oak Ridge Financial Services pays out 21.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Citizens BancShares pays out 5.0% 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 Citizens BancShares has raised its dividend for 8 consecutive years.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

4.2% of Oak Ridge Financial Services shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 78.0% of First Citizens BancShares shares are owned by institutional investors. 25.6% of Oak Ridge Financial Services shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 13.2% of First Citizens BancShares shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk & Volatility

Oak Ridge Financial Services has a beta of 0.09, suggesting that its stock price is 91% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Citizens BancShares has a beta of 0.69, suggesting that its stock price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

First Citizens BancShares beats Oak Ridge Financial Services on 14 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Oak Ridge Financial Services

Oak Ridge Financial Services, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for Bank of Oak Ridge that provides various banking products and services for individuals and businesses. It offers checking, savings, and money market accounts; overdrafts; auto, home equity, mortgage, business term, and business SBA loans; business lines of credit; credit cards; and online and mobile banking products and services. The company also provides health savings accounts, identity theft protection, wealth management, cash management, and remote deposit capture services; and auto, home, small business, renters, life, boat and watercraft, classic car, motorcycle, flood, pet, and umbrella insurance products. It operates through a network of branches in Oak Ridge, Greensboro, and Summerfield, North Carolina. The company was founded in 2000 and is based in Oak Ridge, North Carolina.

About First Citizens BancShares

First Citizens BancShares, Inc. operates as the holding company for First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company that provides retail and commercial banking services to individuals, businesses, and professionals. The company's deposit products include checking, savings, money market, and time deposit accounts. Its loan product portfolio comprises commercial construction and mortgage; and commercial and industrial leases, as well as small business administration loans. In addition, the company offers consumer loans, such as residential and revolving mortgage, consumer auto, and other consumer loans. Further, it provides wealth management services, including annuities, brokerage services, and third-party mutual funds, as well as investment management and advisory services. The company provides its products and services through its branch network. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. was founded in 1898 and is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina.