Head to Head Survey: Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) vs. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK)

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST) and Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, risk, dividends, earnings, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Southern First Bancshares and Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Southern First Bancshares	$213.35 million	1.55	$15.53 million	$2.70	14.96
Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina	$108.45 million	1.42	$16.35 million	$3.11	9.10

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Southern First Bancshares. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Southern First Bancshares, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Southern First Bancshares and Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Southern First Bancshares	10.09%	6.52%	0.52%
Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina	15.49%	12.39%	1.02%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

75.0% of Southern First Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 43.8% of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.1% of Southern First Bancshares shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 18.9% of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

Southern First Bancshares has a beta of 0.83, indicating that its stock price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina has a beta of 0.65, indicating that its stock price is 35% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Southern First Bancshares and Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Southern First Bancshares	0	0	1	0	3.00
Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina	0	0	0	0	0.00

Southern First Bancshares presently has a consensus target price of $51.00, indicating a potential upside of 26.24%. Given Southern First Bancshares’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Southern First Bancshares is more favorable than Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina.

Summary

Southern First Bancshares beats Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Southern First Bancshares

Southern First Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Southern First Bank that provides commercial, consumer, and mortgage loans to the general public in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia. The company accepts various deposit products that include checking accounts, commercial checking accounts, and savings accounts, as well as other time deposits, including daily money market accounts and long-term certificates of deposit. Its loan portfolio comprises commercial real estate loans; construction real estate loans; commercial business loans for various lines of businesses, such as the manufacturing, service industry, and professional service areas; consumer real estate and home equity loans; and other consumer loans, including secured and unsecured installment loans and revolving lines of credit. In addition, the company provides other bank services, such as internet banking, cash management, safe deposit boxes, direct deposit, automatic drafts, bill payment, and mobile banking services. Southern First Bancshares, Inc. was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina.

About Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Peoples Bank that provides various banking products and services for individuals and small-to medium-sized businesses. It offers checking, savings, money market, and retirement accounts; certificates of deposits; and credit and debit cards. The company also originates commercial real estate loans, commercial loans, construction and land development loans, and residential mortgage loans; and individual taxpayer identification number mortgage loans, as well as agricultural loans. In addition, it provides investment counseling and non-deposit investment products, such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, tax deferred annuities, and related brokerage services; and real estate appraisal and brokerage services. Further, the company operates as a clearing-house for the provision of appraisal services for community banks; and acquires, manages, and disposes real property, other collateral, and other assets obtained in the ordinary course of collecting debts. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. was founded in 1912 and is headquartered in Newton, North Carolina.