First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) and Summit State Bank (NASDAQ:SSBI) Financial Contrast

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) and Summit State Bank (NASDAQ:SSBI) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, earnings, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for First Citizens BancShares and Summit State Bank, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Citizens BancShares	0	11	2	1	2.29
Summit State Bank	0	1	0	0	2.00

First Citizens BancShares presently has a consensus price target of $2,261.00, indicating a potential upside of 10.01%. Given First Citizens BancShares’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe First Citizens BancShares is more favorable than Summit State Bank.

Volatility & Risk

First Citizens BancShares has a beta of 0.58, meaning that its stock price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Summit State Bank has a beta of 0.35, meaning that its stock price is 65% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares First Citizens BancShares and Summit State Bank’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Citizens BancShares	16.28%	12.07%	1.06%
Summit State Bank	3.87%	N/A	N/A

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares First Citizens BancShares and Summit State Bank”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Citizens BancShares	$9.33 billion	2.49	$2.21 billion	$187.04	10.99
Summit State Bank	$58.82 million	1.42	$6.80 million	$0.34	36.12

First Citizens BancShares has higher revenue and earnings than Summit State Bank. First Citizens BancShares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Summit State Bank, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

78.0% of First Citizens BancShares shares are owned by institutional investors. 14.6% of First Citizens BancShares shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

First Citizens BancShares beats Summit State Bank on 14 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About First Citizens BancShares

First Citizens BancShares, Inc. operates as the holding company for First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company that provides retail and commercial banking services to individuals, businesses, and professionals. The company's deposit products include checking, savings, money market, and time deposit accounts. Its loan product portfolio comprises commercial construction and mortgage; and commercial and industrial leases, as well as small business administration loans. In addition, the company offers consumer loans, such as residential and revolving mortgage, consumer auto, and other consumer loans. Further, it provides wealth management services, including annuities, brokerage services, and third-party mutual funds, as well as investment management and advisory services. The company provides its products and services through its branch network. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. was founded in 1898 and is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina.

About Summit State Bank

Summit State Bank engages in providing an array of financial services to small and medium-sized businesses, their owners and employees, entrepreneurs, high net worth families, foundations, estates, and individual consumers. It specializes in business services, personal accounts, nonprofit programs, and mobile banking ranging from lending, checking, merchant, eBanking, automated teller machines, equity loans, and others. The company was founded on December 20, 1982 and is headquartered in Santa Rosa, CA.