First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) and KBC Group (OTCMKTS:KBCSY) Financial Analysis

KBC Group (OTCMKTS:KBCSY) and First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation and profitability.

Risk & Volatility

KBC Group has a beta of 0.64, indicating that its share price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First BanCorp. has a beta of 0.84, indicating that its share price is 16% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for KBC Group and First BanCorp., as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
KBC Group	1	4	2	0	2.14
First BanCorp.	0	3	5	1	2.78

First BanCorp. has a consensus target price of $29.86, suggesting a potential upside of 11.80%. Given First BanCorp.’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe First BanCorp. is more favorable than KBC Group.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares KBC Group and First BanCorp.”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
KBC Group	$26.56 billion	2.16	$4.04 billion	$5.26	13.03
First BanCorp.	$987.37 million	4.13	$344.87 million	$2.37	11.27

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

Dividends

KBC Group pays an annual dividend of $3.19 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.7%. First BanCorp. pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. KBC Group pays out 60.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First BanCorp. pays out 33.8% 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 BanCorp. has increased its dividend for 6 consecutive years.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

97.9% of First BanCorp. shares are held by institutional investors. 1.9% of First BanCorp. shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares KBC Group and First BanCorp.’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
KBC Group	15.58%	13.42%	0.94%
First BanCorp.	29.24%	18.03%	1.84%

Summary

First BanCorp. beats KBC Group on 13 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About KBC Group

KBC Group NV, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated bank-insurance services primarily for retail, private banking, small and medium sized enterprises, and mid-cap clients. The company offers demand deposits and savings accounts; home and mortgage loans; consumer finance and SME funding services; credit, investment fund and asset management, and life and non-life insurance; and cash management, payments, trade finance, lease, money market, capital market products, and stockbroking services. It also provides digital and mobile banking services. The company was formerly known as KBC Bank and Insurance Holding Company NV and changed its name to KBC Group NV in March 2005. KBC Group NV was incorporated in 1935 and is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium.

About First BanCorp.

First BanCorp. operates as a bank holding company for FirstBank Puerto Rico that provides a range of financial products and services to consumers and commercial customers. The company operates through six segments: Commercial and Corporate Banking, Mortgage Banking, Consumer (Retail) Banking, Treasury and Investments, United States Operations, and Virgin Islands Operations. The Commercial and Corporate Banking segment offers commercial loans, including commercial real estate and construction loans, as well as other products, such as cash management and business management services. The Mortgage Banking segment engages in the origination, sale, and servicing of various residential mortgage loans; hedging activities; and purchase of mortgage loans from branch and mortgage bankers. The Consumer (Retail) Banking segment provides auto loans, finance leases, boat and personal loans, credit card loans, and lines of credit; and interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing checking and savings accounts, and individual retirement accounts and retail certificates of deposit (CDs), as well as insurance agency services. The Treasury and Investments segment offers funding and liquidity management services. The United States Operations segment provides checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as retail CDs; traditional commercial and industrial, and commercial real estate loans, residential mortgages, term and construction loan, home equity loans, lines of credit, FHLB advances, and brokered CDs; and internet banking, cash management, remote deposit capture, and automated clearing house transactions services. The Virgin Islands Operations segment is involved in consumer, commercial lending, and deposit-taking activities. First BanCorp. was founded in 1948 and is headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico.