Bank of Marin Bancorp (NASDAQ:BMRC) and First Northern Community Bancorp (OTCMKTS:FNRN) Critical Comparison

Bank of Marin Bancorp (NASDAQ:BMRC) and First Northern Community Bancorp (OTCMKTS:FNRN) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, valuation, risk and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Bank of Marin Bancorp and First Northern Community Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Bank of Marin Bancorp	4.43%	4.60%	0.54%
First Northern Community Bancorp	23.58%	11.03%	1.08%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Bank of Marin Bancorp and First Northern Community Bancorp”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Bank of Marin Bancorp	$119.91 million	3.13	-$8.41 million	$0.43	54.19
First Northern Community Bancorp	$84.67 million	2.41	$20.03 million	$1.28	10.14

First Northern Community Bancorp has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Bank of Marin Bancorp. First Northern Community Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Bank of Marin Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

52.3% of Bank of Marin Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 17.9% of First Northern Community Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.7% of Bank of Marin Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 13.0% of First Northern Community Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Bank of Marin Bancorp has a beta of 0.89, indicating that its stock price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Northern Community Bancorp has a beta of 0.23, indicating that its stock price is 77% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for Bank of Marin Bancorp and First Northern Community Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Bank of Marin Bancorp	0	2	3	0	2.60
First Northern Community Bancorp	0	0	0	0	0.00

Bank of Marin Bancorp presently has a consensus price target of $26.25, indicating a potential upside of 12.66%. Given Bank of Marin Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Bank of Marin Bancorp is more favorable than First Northern Community Bancorp.

Summary

Bank of Marin Bancorp beats First Northern Community Bancorp on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Bank of Marin Bancorp

Bank of Marin Bancorp operates as the holding company for Bank of Marin that provides a range of financial services primarily to small to medium-sized businesses, not-for-profit organizations, and commercial real estate investors in the United States. The company offers personal and business checking and savings accounts; and individual retirement, health savings, and demand deposit marketplace accounts, as well as time certificates of deposit, certificate of deposit account registry, and insured cash sweep services. It also provides commercial real estate, commercial and industrial, and consumer loans, as well as construction financing and home equity lines of credit. In addition, the company offers merchant and payroll services; commercial equipment leasing program; payment solutions; treasury management services; credit cards; and mobile deposit, remote deposit capture, automated clearing house, wire transfer, and image lockbox services. Further, it provides wealth management and trust services comprising customized investment portfolio management, financial planning, trust administration, estate settlement, and custody services, as well as 401(k) plan services; and automated teller machines, and telephone and digital banking services. The company was incorporated in 1989 and is headquartered in Novato, California.

About First Northern Community Bancorp

First Northern Community Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for First Northern Bank of Dixon that provides commercial banking products and services to individuals, and small and medium sized businesses. The company accepts demand deposits, interest-bearing transaction deposits, savings and money market deposit accounts, and time deposits. It also offers commercial, commercial real estate, agriculture, residential mortgage, residential construction, and consumer loans. In addition, the company provides debit and credit cards; investment and brokerage services; alternative investment products, and fiduciary and other financial services; and equipment leasing, merchant card processing, payroll, and international banking services through third parties. Further, it offers cashier's checks, safe deposit boxes, and other customary banking services. The company operates branches located in the cities of Auburn, Colusa, Davis, Dixon, Fairfield, Orland, Rancho Cordova, Roseville, Sacramento, Vacaville, West Sacramento, Winters, Willows, and Woodland; satellite banking office inside a retirement community in the city of Davis; residential mortgage loan office in Davis; and commercial loan office in the Contra Costa County city of Walnut Creek. First Northern Community Bancorp was founded in 1910 and is headquartered in Dixon, California.