Analyzing First National Bank Alaska (OTCMKTS:FBAK) and Plumas Bancorp (NASDAQ:PLBC)

First National Bank Alaska (OTCMKTS:FBAK) and Plumas Bancorp (NASDAQ:PLBC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, risk, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Risk and Volatility

First National Bank Alaska has a beta of 0.18, suggesting that its share price is 82% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Plumas Bancorp has a beta of 0.6, suggesting that its share price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

41.7% of Plumas Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 9.0% of Plumas Bancorp shares are owned by company 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.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First National Bank Alaska	29.11%	14.98%	1.55%
Plumas Bancorp	25.80%	15.30%	1.73%

Dividends

First National Bank Alaska pays an annual dividend of $16.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.3%. Plumas Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. First National Bank Alaska pays out 65.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Plumas Bancorp pays out 28.1% 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. Plumas Bancorp has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for First National Bank Alaska and Plumas Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First National Bank Alaska	0	0	0	0	0.00
Plumas Bancorp	0	0	3	0	3.00

Plumas Bancorp has a consensus price target of $55.50, suggesting a potential upside of 22.35%. Given Plumas Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Plumas Bancorp is more favorable than First National Bank Alaska.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares First National Bank Alaska and Plumas Bancorp”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First National Bank Alaska	$87.73 million	N/A	$67.05 million	$24.44	12.35
Plumas Bancorp	$93.11 million	3.39	$28.62 million	$4.27	10.62

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

Summary

Plumas Bancorp beats First National Bank Alaska on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About First National Bank Alaska

First National Bank Alaska, a commercial bank, provides various banking products and services for business, industry, and individual customers primarily in Alaska. The company offers savings and checking accounts; money market deposits; safe deposit services; certificates of deposit; individual retirement accounts; and personal, home equity, and construction loans, as well as loans for stability and growth. It also provides investment, treasury, trust, and wealth management services; and escrow and contract collection, and bankcard services. In addition, the company offers debit and credit cards, online and mobile banking, fraud prevention, and convenience banking services. First National Bank Alaska was founded in 1922 and is headquartered in Anchorage, Alaska.

About Plumas Bancorp

Plumas Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for the Plumas Bank that provides various banking products and services for small and middle market businesses, and individuals in Northeastern California and Northwestern Nevada. The company accepts various deposits, such as checking, money market checking, business sweep, public funds sweep, savings, time deposit, and retirement accounts. Its loan portfolio comprises of term real estate, commercial, and industrial term loans; government-guaranteed and agricultural loans, as well as credit lines; consumer, automobile, and home equity loans; land development and construction loans; and small business administration loans. In addition, the company provides remote deposit, telephone and mobile banking, internet banking with bill-pay options, cashier's check, bank-by-mail, automated teller machine, night depository, safe deposit box, direct deposit, electronic funds transfer, and other customary banking services. Plumas Bancorp was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Reno, Nevada.