First Community Bankshares (NASDAQ:FCBC) & Oak Valley Bancorp (NASDAQ:OVLY) Financial Comparison

First Community Bankshares (NASDAQ:FCBC) and Oak Valley Bancorp (NASDAQ:OVLY) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares First Community Bankshares and Oak Valley Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Community Bankshares	28.30%	11.30%	1.75%
Oak Valley Bancorp	28.41%	15.52%	1.36%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares First Community Bankshares and Oak Valley Bancorp”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Community Bankshares	$158.16 million	5.03	$48.02 million	$2.71	16.00
Oak Valley Bancorp	$77.98 million	2.92	$30.85 million	$3.31	8.22

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

Volatility and Risk

First Community Bankshares has a beta of 0.52, indicating that its stock price is 48% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Oak Valley Bancorp has a beta of 0.32, indicating that its stock price is 68% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

First Community Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $1.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Oak Valley Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.45 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. First Community Bankshares pays out 45.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Oak Valley Bancorp pays out 13.6% 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. First Community Bankshares has raised its dividend for 13 consecutive years and Oak Valley Bancorp has raised its dividend for 10 consecutive years. First Community Bankshares is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for First Community Bankshares and Oak Valley Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Community Bankshares	0	1	0	0	2.00
Oak Valley Bancorp	0	0	0	0	N/A

First Community Bankshares currently has a consensus price target of $38.00, indicating a potential downside of 12.34%. Given First Community Bankshares’ higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe First Community Bankshares is more favorable than Oak Valley Bancorp.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

35.0% of First Community Bankshares shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 30.9% of Oak Valley Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 3.7% of First Community Bankshares shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 19.3% of Oak Valley Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

First Community Bankshares beats Oak Valley Bancorp on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About First Community Bankshares

First Community Bankshares, Inc. operates as the financial holding company for First Community Bank that provides various banking products and services. It offers demand deposit accounts, savings and money market accounts, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement plans; and commercial, consumer real estate, and consumer and other loans. The company also provides trust management, estate administration, and investment advisory services; and investment management services. It serves individuals and businesses across various industries, such as education, government, and health services; coal mining and gas extraction; retail trade; construction; manufacturing; tourism; and transportation. The company operates through branches in West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee. Community Bankshares, Inc. was founded in 1874 and is headquartered in Bluefield, Virginia.

About Oak Valley Bancorp

Oak Valley Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for Oak Valley Community Bank that provides a range of commercial banking services to individuals and small to medium-sized businesses in the Central Valley and the Eastern Sierras. The company's deposits products include checking and savings, money market, health savings, and individual retirement accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. It also offers commercial real estate loans, commercial business lending and trade finance, and small business administration lending, as well as consumer loans, including automobile loans, home mortgages, credit lines, and other personal loans. In addition, the company provides online and mobile banking, remote deposit capture, merchant, night depository, extended hours, wire transfer of funds, note collection services, and automated teller machines. The company was incorporated in 1990 and is headquartered in Oakdale, California.