Head to Head Review: Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach (OTCMKTS:FMBL) & BNP Paribas (OTCMKTS:BNPQY)

Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach (OTCMKTS:FMBL) and BNP Paribas (OTCMKTS:BNPQY) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, dividends, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

7.6% of Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 1.2% of BNP Paribas shares are held by institutional investors. 12.8% of Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach pays an annual dividend of $112.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. BNP Paribas pays an annual dividend of $1.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.2%. Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach pays out 31.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. BNP Paribas pays out 34.8% 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.

Risk & Volatility

Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach has a beta of 0.43, meaning that its share price is 57% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BNP Paribas has a beta of 1.36, meaning that its share price is 36% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach and BNP Paribas, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach	0	0	0	0	0.00
BNP Paribas	0	0	1	1	3.50

Profitability

This table compares Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach and BNP Paribas’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach	9.77%	3.29%	0.37%
BNP Paribas	21.92%	8.09%	0.39%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach and BNP Paribas”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach	$459.33 million	1.46	$44.88 million	$357.92	15.62
BNP Paribas	$49.65 billion	1.61	$11.88 billion	$5.28	6.72

BNP Paribas has higher revenue and earnings than Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach. BNP Paribas is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

BNP Paribas beats Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach

Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach provides various banking products and services to individuals, professionals, and small to medium-sized businesses in Los Angeles, Orange, and Santa Barbara Counties. It offers checking, savings, Christmas club savings, health savings, market rate savings, and money market accounts; demand and time deposits; certificates of deposit; and individual retirement account. The company also provides personal, home, commercial real estate, real estate and construction, and commercial business loans, as well as lines of credit; financing for residential loans comprising single-family and multifamily loans; and credit and debit cards. In addition, it offers account management, receivables and payables, and risk management services; commercial lending services; and faith-based and healthcare banking services, as well as online and mobile banking services. Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach was founded in 1907 and is headquartered in Long Beach, California.

About BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas SA provides various banking and financial products and services in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Americas, and the Asia Pacific. It operates through three divisions: Corporate & Institutional Banking; Commercial, Personal Banking & Services; and Investment & Protection Services. The Corporate & Institutional Banking division offers capital market, securities, investment banking, financing, risk management, cash management, and financial advisory services for corporate clients and institutional investors. The Commercial, Personal Banking & Services division provides financing and equipment leasing services, mobility, and digital banking services, as well as current accounts, savings products, bancassurance, insurance products and services, and consumer loans. The Investment & Protection Services division provides protection, savings, investment, and real estate services to support individuals, professionals, corporate clients, and institutions. The company was formerly known as Banque Nationale de Paris and changed its name to BNP Paribas SA in May 2000. BNP Paribas SA was founded in 1822 and is headquartered in Paris, France.