Reviewing First of Long Island (NASDAQ:FLIC) & Heartland BancCorp (OTCMKTS:HLAN)

Heartland BancCorp (OTCMKTS:HLAN) and First of Long Island (NASDAQ:FLIC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Heartland BancCorp and First of Long Island’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Heartland BancCorp	17.89%	N/A	N/A
First of Long Island	11.15%	5.49%	0.49%

Dividends

Heartland BancCorp pays an annual dividend of $3.03 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. First of Long Island pays an annual dividend of $0.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.6%. Heartland BancCorp pays out 31.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First of Long Island pays out 95.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Heartland BancCorp and First of Long Island”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Heartland BancCorp	$104.83 million	2.83	$19.52 million	$9.74	15.00
First of Long Island	$86.16 million	2.89	$26.24 million	$0.88	12.55

First of Long Island has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Heartland BancCorp. First of Long Island is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Heartland BancCorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk & Volatility

Heartland BancCorp has a beta of 0.42, meaning that its share price is 58% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First of Long Island has a beta of 0.74, meaning that its share price is 26% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

7.5% of Heartland BancCorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 48.3% of First of Long Island shares are owned by institutional investors. 22.7% of Heartland BancCorp shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 6.3% of First of Long Island shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Heartland BancCorp and First of Long Island, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Heartland BancCorp	0	1	1	0	2.50
First of Long Island	0	1	0	0	2.00

Heartland BancCorp currently has a consensus target price of $122.50, indicating a potential downside of 16.14%. First of Long Island has a consensus target price of $13.00, indicating a potential upside of 17.75%. Given First of Long Island’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe First of Long Island is more favorable than Heartland BancCorp.

About Heartland BancCorp

Heartland BancCorp operates as the bank holding company for Heartland Bank that provides various banking and financial services to individual and corporate customers. The company offers personal and business checking and savings accounts. It also provides various lending solutions comprising agricultural loans, commercial and business lending, home and personal loans, and title services. In addition, the company offers online banking, treasury management, credit and debit card, and mobile wallet services. Further, it provides education planning, insurance, wealth management, and retirement planning services. Heartland BancCorp was founded in 1911 and is based in Whitehall, Ohio.

About First of Long Island

The First of Long Island Corporation operates as the holding company for The First National Bank of Long Island that provides financial services to small and medium-sized businesses, professionals, consumers, municipalities, and other organizations. The company offers business and small business checking, personal checking, negotiable order of withdrawal, interest on lawyer, escrow service, rent security, personal and nonpersonal money market, savings, time deposit, and individual retirement accounts. It also provides commercial and residential mortgage, commercial and industrial, small business credit scored, Small Business Administration, construction and land development, consumer, and home equity lines/loans, as well as standby letters of credit; debit or credit cards; and overdraft facilities. In addition, the company offers life insurance, investment management, trust, estate and custody, retail investment, bill payment, lockbox, ACH, safe deposit box rental, wire transfer, money order, checkbook printing, check, ATM, and online and mobile banking services. The First of Long Island Corporation was founded in 1927 and is headquartered in Melville, New York.