Analyzing First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) and CNB Financial (NASDAQ:CCNE)

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) and CNB Financial (NASDAQ:CCNE) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, risk, valuation, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares First Commonwealth Financial and CNB Financial”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Commonwealth Financial	$729.51 million	2.90	$152.30 million	$1.63	12.84
CNB Financial	$432.51 million	2.33	$66.13 million	$3.11	10.96

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

72.6% of First Commonwealth Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 52.3% of CNB Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 1.9% of First Commonwealth Financial shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.9% of CNB Financial shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for First Commonwealth Financial and CNB Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Commonwealth Financial	0	3	4	0	2.57
CNB Financial	0	2	4	1	2.86

First Commonwealth Financial currently has a consensus price target of $24.25, indicating a potential upside of 15.83%. CNB Financial has a consensus price target of $37.00, indicating a potential upside of 8.54%. Given First Commonwealth Financial’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe First Commonwealth Financial is more favorable than CNB Financial.

Risk & Volatility

First Commonwealth Financial has a beta of 0.74, suggesting that its share price is 26% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CNB Financial has a beta of 0.61, suggesting that its share price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

First Commonwealth Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. CNB Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. First Commonwealth Financial pays out 34.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. CNB Financial pays out 24.4% 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 Commonwealth Financial has increased its dividend for 9 consecutive years and CNB Financial has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years. First Commonwealth Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

This table compares First Commonwealth Financial and CNB Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Commonwealth Financial	22.62%	10.79%	1.37%
CNB Financial	19.37%	12.85%	1.26%

Summary

First Commonwealth Financial beats CNB Financial on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About First Commonwealth Financial

First Commonwealth Financial Corporation, a financial holding company, provides various consumer and commercial banking services in the United States. Its consumer services include personal checking accounts, interest-earning checking accounts, savings and health savings accounts, insured money market accounts, debit cards, investment certificates, fixed and variable rate certificates of deposit, mortgage loans, secured and unsecured installment loans, construction and real estate loans, safe deposit facilities, credit cards, credit lines with overdraft checking protection, IRA accounts, and automated teller machine (atm) services, as well as internet, mobile, and telephone banking services. The company's commercial banking services comprise commercial lending, business checking accounts, online account management services, payroll direct deposits, commercial cash management services, and repurchase agreements, as well as ACH origination services. In addition, it offers various trust and asset management services; auto, home, and business insurance, as well as term life insurance; and annuities, mutual funds, and stock and bond brokerage services through a broker-dealer and insurance brokers. The company was founded in 1934 and is headquartered in Indiana, Pennsylvania.

About CNB Financial

CNB Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for CNB Bank that provides a range of banking products and services for individual, business, governmental, and institutional customers. The company accepts checking, savings, and time deposit accounts; and offers real estate, commercial, industrial, residential, and consumer loans, as well as various other specialized financial services. It also provides private banking; and wealth and asset management services, including the administration of trusts and estates, retirement plans, and other employee benefit plans, as well as a range of wealth management services. In addition, the company invests in debt and equity securities; sells nonproprietary annuities and other insurance products; and offers small balance unsecured loans and secured loans primarily collateralized by automobiles and equipment, as well as engages in consumer discount loan and finance business. The company was founded in 1865 and is headquartered in Clearfield, Pennsylvania.