Critical Comparison: First Us Bancsh (FUSB) versus The Competition

First Us Bancsh (NASDAQ:FUSB) is one of 919 publicly-traded companies in the “Banks” industry, but how does it contrast to its rivals? We will compare First Us Bancsh to similar companies based on the strength of its risk, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, dividends and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares First Us Bancsh and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Us Bancsh	12.15%	7.43%	0.67%
First Us Bancsh Competitors	15.66%	9.44%	0.93%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

18.7% of First Us Bancsh shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 48.0% of shares of all “Banks” companies are owned by institutional investors. 12.1% of First Us Bancsh shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 9.8% of shares of all “Banks” companies are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk and Volatility

First Us Bancsh has a beta of 0.22, indicating that its stock price is 78% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Us Bancsh’s rivals have a beta of 0.61, indicating that their average stock price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for First Us Bancsh and its rivals, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Us Bancsh	0	0	0	1	4.00
First Us Bancsh Competitors	7470	30209	27786	1473	2.35

As a group, “Banks” companies have a potential upside of 17.08%. Given First Us Bancsh’s rivals higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe First Us Bancsh has less favorable growth aspects than its rivals.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares First Us Bancsh and its rivals gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Us Bancsh	$62.99 million	$5.99 million	12.17
First Us Bancsh Competitors	$9.95 billion	$2.42 billion	20.29

First Us Bancsh’s rivals have higher revenue and earnings than First Us Bancsh. First Us Bancsh is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Dividends

First Us Bancsh pays an annual dividend of $0.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. First Us Bancsh pays out 20.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Banks” companies pay a dividend yield of 9.3% and pay out 28.9% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. First Us Bancsh has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years.

Summary

First Us Bancsh rivals beat First Us Bancsh on 11 of the 15 factors compared.

First Us Bancsh Company Profile

First US Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for First US Bank that provides commercial banking products and services. The company offers non-interest-bearing demand deposits, savings accounts, NOW accounts, money market demand accounts, individual retirement accounts, and time deposits. Its loan products include commercial construction, land, and land development loans, including residential housing projects, commercial and industrial development, and for purchase and improvement of raw land for agricultural production; mortgage loans on one-to-four family and multi-family residential properties; real estate loans secured by commercial and industrial properties, office or mixed-use facilities, strip shopping centers, and other commercial properties; commercial and industrial loans and leases; and secured and unsecured personal loans, including automobile loans, loans for household and personal purposes, and other direct consumer installment loans. The company also provides loans secured by collateral in form of personal property items. In addition, it provides letters of credit; and safe deposit box and remote deposit capture services. The company serves small-and medium-sized businesses, property managers, business executives, professionals, and other individuals. The company was formerly known as United Security Bancshares, Inc. and changed its name to First US Bancshares, Inc. in October 2016. First US Bancshares, Inc. was founded in 1952 and is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama.