Analyzing First Hawaiian (NASDAQ:FHB) and First Northwest Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWB)

First Hawaiian (NASDAQ:FHB) and First Northwest Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWB) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation and dividends.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

97.6% of First Hawaiian shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 66.1% of First Northwest Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.6% of First Hawaiian shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 5.5% of First Northwest Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

First Hawaiian has a beta of 0.71, meaning that its share price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Northwest Bancorp has a beta of 0.57, meaning that its share price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares First Hawaiian and First Northwest Bancorp”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Hawaiian	$1.17 billion	2.57	$276.27 million	$2.20	11.13
First Northwest Bancorp	$118.64 million	0.73	-$4.19 million	$0.72	12.75

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for First Hawaiian and First Northwest Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Hawaiian	3	6	0	0	1.67
First Northwest Bancorp	1	2	1	0	2.00

First Hawaiian currently has a consensus price target of $27.50, suggesting a potential upside of 12.34%. First Northwest Bancorp has a consensus price target of $13.50, suggesting a potential upside of 47.06%. Given First Northwest Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe First Northwest Bancorp is more favorable than First Hawaiian.

Profitability

This table compares First Hawaiian and First Northwest Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Hawaiian	23.65%	10.19%	1.16%
First Northwest Bancorp	5.35%	4.23%	0.29%

Summary

First Hawaiian beats First Northwest Bancorp on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About First Hawaiian

First Hawaiian, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for First Hawaiian Bank that provides a range of banking products and services to consumer and commercial customers in the United States. It operates in three segments: Retail Banking, Commercial Banking, and Treasury and Other. The company offers various deposit products, including checking, savings, and time deposit accounts, and other deposit accounts. It also provides residential and commercial mortgage loans, home equity lines of credit and loans, automobile loans and leases, secured and unsecured lines of credit, installment loans, small business loans and leases, and construction lending, as well as commercial lease and auto dealer financing. In addition, the company offers wealth management, personal installment, individual investment and financial planning, insurance protection, trust and estate, private banking, investment management, retirement planning, and merchant processing services, as well as consumer and commercial credit cards. The company was formerly known as BancWest Corporation and changed its name to First Hawaiian, Inc. in April 2016. First Hawaiian, Inc. was founded in 1858 and is headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii.

About First Northwest Bancorp

First Northwest Bancorp operates as a bank holding company for First Fed Bank that provides commercial and consumer banking services to individuals, businesses, and nonprofit organizations in western Washington, the United States. The company accepts various deposit instruments, including checking, money market deposit, savings, and transaction accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. It also originates one- to four-family mortgage loans, commercial and multi-family real estate loans, construction and land loans, and commercial business loans, as well as consumer loans primarily consisting of automobile loans, and home-equity loans and lines of credit. First Northwest Bancorp operates branch offices in Clallam, Jefferson, King, Kitsap, and Whatcom Counties, Washington. First Northwest Bancorp was founded in 1923 and is based in Port Angeles, Washington.