Comparing First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN) & Orange County Bancorp (NASDAQ:OBT)

Orange County Bancorp (NASDAQ:OBT) and First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability and institutional ownership.

Dividends

Orange County Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. First Financial Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. Orange County Bancorp pays out 18.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Financial Bankshares pays out 49.7% 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 Financial Bankshares has raised its dividend for 13 consecutive years. First Financial Bankshares is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Orange County Bancorp and First Financial Bankshares”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Orange County Bancorp	$131.19 million	2.64	$29.48 million	$5.12	11.95
First Financial Bankshares	$636.07 million	9.30	$198.98 million	$1.45	28.54

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Orange County Bancorp and First Financial Bankshares, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Orange County Bancorp	0	0	1	0	3.00
First Financial Bankshares	0	4	0	0	2.00

Orange County Bancorp presently has a consensus price target of $66.00, suggesting a potential upside of 7.84%. First Financial Bankshares has a consensus price target of $37.75, suggesting a potential downside of 8.77%. Given Orange County Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Orange County Bancorp is more favorable than First Financial Bankshares.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

42.6% of Orange County Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 69.8% of First Financial Bankshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 10.5% of Orange County Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 4.2% of First Financial Bankshares shares are owned by 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.

Profitability

This table compares Orange County Bancorp and First Financial Bankshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Orange County Bancorp	20.31%	16.91%	1.17%
First Financial Bankshares	28.76%	13.43%	1.56%

Volatility and Risk

Orange County Bancorp has a beta of 0.36, meaning that its share price is 64% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Financial Bankshares has a beta of 0.78, meaning that its share price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

First Financial Bankshares beats Orange County Bancorp on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Orange County Bancorp

Orange County Bancorp, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides commercial and consumer banking products and services, and trust and wealth management services to small businesses, middle-market enterprises, local municipal governments, and individuals. It accepts various deposits, including interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing demand accounts, money market deposit accounts, savings accounts, and certificates of deposit. The company also offers commercial real estate loans, commercial and industrial loans, commercial real estate construction loans, residential real estate loans, home equity loans, and consumer loans. In addition, it provides traditional trust and administration, asset management, financial planning, and wealth management services. The company operates full-service branches and loan production office in Orange, Westchester, Rockland, and Bronx counties in New York. Orange County Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1892 and is headquartered in Middletown, New York.

About First Financial Bankshares

First Financial Bankshares, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides commercial banking products and services in Texas. The company offers checking, savings and time deposits; automated teller machines, drive-in, and night deposit services; safe deposit facilities, remote deposit capture, internet banking, mobile banking, payroll cards, funds transfer, and performing other customary commercial banking services; securities brokerage services; and trust and wealth management services, including wealth management, estates administration, oil and gas management, testamentary trusts, revocable and irrevocable trusts, and agency accounts. It also provides commercial and industrial, municipal, agricultural, construction and development, farm, residential, and consumer auto and non-auto, as well as non-owner occupied and owner occupied commercial real estate loans. In addition, the company offers advisory and specialized services related to asset management, investing, purchasing, advertising, public relations, and technology services. First Financial Bankshares, Inc. was founded in 1890 and is headquartered in Abilene, Texas.