Analyzing First Northern Community Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNRN) & Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN)

First Northern Community Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNRN) and Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings and dividends.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares First Northern Community Bancorp and Banco Santander”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Northern Community Bancorp	$75.31 million	3.76	$21.13 million	$1.35	12.79
Banco Santander	$61.87 billion	3.47	$15.95 billion	$1.23	11.89

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for First Northern Community Bancorp and Banco Santander, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Northern Community Bancorp	0	0	1	0	3.00
Banco Santander	1	3	6	0	2.50

Insider & Institutional Ownership

17.9% of First Northern Community Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 9.2% of Banco Santander shares are held by institutional investors. 11.9% of First Northern Community Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 9.5% of Banco Santander shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares First Northern Community Bancorp and Banco Santander’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Northern Community Bancorp	24.97%	10.68%	1.18%
Banco Santander	26.94%	12.43%	0.75%

Summary

First Northern Community Bancorp beats Banco Santander on 7 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

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 to medium sized businesses. The company accepts demand deposits, interest-bearing transaction deposits, savings and money market accounts, and time deposits. Its loan portfolio comprises of commercial, commercial real estate, agriculture, residential mortgage, residential construction, and consumer loans. The company also offers 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. In addition, it provides issues cashier’s checks, safe deposit boxes rental, and other customary banking services. The company operates eleven full-service branches located in the cities of Auburn, Davis, Dixon, Fairfield, Rancho Cordova, Roseville, Sacramento, Vacaville, West Sacramento, Winters, and Woodland; a satellite banking office inside a retirement community in the city of Davis; a residential mortgage loan office in Davis; and a 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.

About Banco Santander

Banco Santander, S.A. provides various financial services worldwide. The company operates through Retail Banking, Santander Corporate & Investment Banking, Wealth Management & Insurance, and PagoNxt segments. It offers demand and time deposits, mutual funds, and current and savings accounts; mortgages, consumer finance, loans, and various financing solutions; and project finance, debt capital markets, global transaction banking, and corporate finance services. The company also provides asset management and private banking services; and insurance products. In addition, it offers corporate and investment banking services; and digital payment solutions. Further, it offers online banking and financial services to retail, business, institutional, corporate, private banking and university customers and clients. The company was formerly known as Banco Santander Central Hispano SA and changed its name to Banco Santander, S.A. in February 2007. Banco Santander, S.A. was founded in 1856 and is headquartered in Madrid, Spain.