Head to Head Contrast: Customers Bancorp (NYSE:CUBI) versus First National (NASDAQ:FXNC)

First National (NASDAQ:FXNC) and Customers Bancorp (NYSE:CUBI) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, profitability and earnings.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

33.9% of First National shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.3% of Customers Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 14.2% of First National shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 10.5% of Customers Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares First National and Customers Bancorp”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First National	$116.51 million	2.32	$17.70 million	$2.33	12.85
Customers Bancorp	$1.48 billion	1.79	$224.09 million	$7.88	9.96

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for First National and Customers Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First National	0	0	1	0	3.00
Customers Bancorp	0	5	6	1	2.67

Customers Bancorp has a consensus price target of $87.50, indicating a potential upside of 11.44%. Given Customers Bancorp’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Customers Bancorp is more favorable than First National.

Profitability

This table compares First National and Customers Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First National	17.94%	11.48%	1.02%
Customers Bancorp	18.63%	14.12%	1.17%

Volatility and Risk

First National has a beta of 0.45, meaning that its share price is 55% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Customers Bancorp has a beta of 1.49, meaning that its share price is 49% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Customers Bancorp beats First National on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About First National

First National Corporation operates as the bank holding company for First Bank that provides various commercial banking services to small and medium-sized businesses, individuals, estates, local governmental entities, and non-profit organizations in Virginia. The company's deposit products include checking, savings, money market, and individual retirement accounts, as well as certificates of deposit and treasury management solutions. Its loan products comprise construction loans, including residential, land acquisition, and development loans; 1-4 family residential real estate loans; and commercial real estate loans that are secured by commercial real estate, including multi-family residential buildings, office and retail buildings, hotels, industrial buildings, and religious facilities. In addition, the company's loan products include commercial and industrial loans that are secured by business assets, such as accounts receivable, equipment, and inventory; home equity loans; and secured and unsecured consumer loans, such as lines of credit, automobile loans, deposit account loans, and installment and demand loans. Further, it provides wealth management services, including estate planning, investment management of assets, trustee under an agreement, trustee under a will, and estate settlement. Additionally, the company offers title insurance and investment services; and holds other real estate owned and office sites, as well as provides internet and mobile banking, remote deposit capture, and other traditional banking services. First National Corporation was founded in 1907 and is headquartered in Strasburg, Virginia.

About Customers Bancorp

Customers Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Customers Bank that provides financial products and services to individual consumers, and small and middle market businesses. The company provides deposit banking products, which includes commercial and consumer checking, non-interest-bearing and interest-bearing demand, MMDA, savings, and time deposit accounts. Its lending business offers commercial and industrial, commercial real estate, and multifamily and residential mortgage loans; SBA lending and financing; specialty lending includes fund finance, real estate specialty finance, technology and venture, and healthcare and financial institutions group; commercial loans to mortgage companies, and commercial equipment financing; and fund finance, such as variable rate loans secured by collateral pools to private debt funds; and cash management services. In addition, the company provides digital banking including Banking-as-a-Service to fintech companies, payments and treasury services to businesses, and consumer loans through fintech companies and the TassatPay, a blockchain-based instant B2B payments platform which offers instant payments including over-the-counter desks, exchanges, liquidity providers, market makers, funds, and other B2B verticals. Further, it offers mobile phone and internet banking, wire transfers, electronic bill payment, lock box, remote deposit capture, courier, merchant processing, cash vault, controlled disbursements, positive pay, and cash management services, such as account reconciliation, collections, and sweep accounts. The company was incorporated in 2010 and is headquartered in West Reading, Pennsylvania.