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

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

Dividends

First of Long Island pays an annual dividend of $0.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.3%. Heartland BancCorp pays an annual dividend of $3.03 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. 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. Heartland BancCorp pays out 31.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

48.3% of First of Long Island shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 7.5% of Heartland BancCorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.3% of First of Long Island shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 22.7% of Heartland BancCorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

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

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

First of Long Island currently has a consensus price target of $13.00, indicating a potential upside of 12.85%. Heartland BancCorp has a consensus price target of $122.50, indicating a potential downside of 16.61%. Given First of Long Island’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe First of Long Island is more favorable than Heartland BancCorp.

Profitability

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

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

Volatility and Risk

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

Valuation and Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First of Long Island	$86.16 million	3.01	$26.24 million	$0.88	13.09
Heartland BancCorp	$104.83 million	2.84	$19.52 million	$9.74	15.08

First of Long Island has higher earnings, but lower revenue 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.

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.

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.