Reviewing 1st Capital Bancorp (OTCMKTS:FISB) & Park National (NYSE:PRK)

1st Capital Bancorp (OTCMKTS:FISB) and Park National (NYSE:PRK) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, dividends and valuation.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

8.1% of 1st Capital Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 62.7% of Park National shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.7% of Park National shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares 1st Capital Bancorp and Park National”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
1st Capital Bancorp	$41.09 million	1.91	$3.54 million	N/A	N/A
Park National	$543.45 million	4.72	$151.42 million	$10.29	15.41

Park National has higher revenue and earnings than 1st Capital Bancorp.

Profitability

This table compares 1st Capital Bancorp and Park National’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
1st Capital Bancorp	8.20%	N/A	N/A
Park National	23.46%	12.31%	1.50%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for 1st Capital Bancorp and Park National, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
1st Capital Bancorp	0	0	0	0	0.00
Park National	0	3	0	0	2.00

Park National has a consensus target price of $177.75, indicating a potential upside of 12.10%. Given Park National’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Park National is more favorable than 1st Capital Bancorp.

Volatility and Risk

1st Capital Bancorp has a beta of 0.64, indicating that its stock price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Park National has a beta of 0.82, indicating that its stock price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Park National beats 1st Capital Bancorp on 11 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About 1st Capital Bancorp

1st Capital Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for 1st Capital Bank that provides various banking products and services for businesses, professionals, real estate investors, family commercial entities, and individuals in the Central Coast region of California. It offers checking, saving, money market, savings, and certificate of deposit accounts, as well as individual retirement and health savings accounts; and other services including debit cards, check orders, and cannabis banking services. The company also provides lending services, which includes business, agriculture, and wine industry lending; commercial real estate and personal loans; and small business administration loans, and government guaranteed lending solutions. In addition, it offers electronic banking services including online services, such as personal and business online banking; and cash management services comprising ACH origination, online wire transfer, positive pay, merchant card, and remote deposit capture services. The company was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Salinas, California.

About Park National

Park National Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Park National Bank that provides commercial banking and trust services in small and medium population areas. The company offers deposits for demand, savings, and time accounts; trust and wealth management services; cash management services; safe deposit operations; electronic funds transfers; Internet and mobile banking solutions with bill pay service; credit cards; and various additional banking-related services. It also provides commercial loans, including financing for industrial and commercial properties, financing for equipment, inventory and accounts receivable, acquisition financing, and commercial leasing, as well as for consumer finance companies; commercial real estate loans comprising mortgage loans to developers and owners of commercial real estate; originates financing leases primarily for the purchase of commercial vehicles, operating/manufacturing equipment, and municipal vehicles/equipment; consumer loans, such as automobile loans; consumer finance services; home equity lines of credit; and residential real estate and construction loans, as well as installment loans and commercial loans. In addition, the company offers aircraft financing services; and ParkDirect, a personal banking application. Park National Corporation was founded in 1908 and is headquartered in Newark, Ohio.