Head-To-Head Survey: SVB Financial Group (OTCMKTS:SIVBQ) & First Foundation (NYSE:FFWM)

First Foundation (NYSE:FFWM) and SVB Financial Group (OTCMKTS:SIVBQ) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares First Foundation and SVB Financial Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Foundation	-26.37%	1.06%	0.08%
SVB Financial Group	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for First Foundation and SVB Financial Group, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Foundation	1	2	2	1	2.50
SVB Financial Group	0	0	0	0	0.00

First Foundation currently has a consensus price target of $6.58, suggesting a potential upside of 18.09%. Given First Foundation’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe First Foundation is more favorable than SVB Financial Group.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

73.1% of First Foundation shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 8.7% of SVB Financial Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 9.5% of First Foundation shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of SVB Financial Group shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk and Volatility

First Foundation has a beta of 0.92, suggesting that its stock price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SVB Financial Group has a beta of 0.98, suggesting that its stock price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares First Foundation and SVB Financial Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Foundation	$588.36 million	0.79	-$155.16 million	($1.89)	-2.95
SVB Financial Group	$7.40 billion	0.00	$1.67 billion	$25.35	0.00

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

Summary

First Foundation beats SVB Financial Group on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About First Foundation

First Foundation Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides personal banking, business banking, and private wealth management services in the United States. It operates through two segments, Banking and Wealth Management. The company offers a range of bank deposit products, including personal and business checking accounts, savings accounts, interest-bearing negotiable order of withdrawal accounts, money market accounts, and time certificate of deposits; and loan products consisting of multifamily and single family residential real estate loans, commercial real estate loans, and commercial term loans and line of credits, as well as consumer loans, such as personal installment loans and line of credits, and home equity line of credits. It also provides various specialized services comprising trust services, internet and mobile banking, remote deposit capture services, merchant credit card services, ATM cards, Visa debit cards, and business sweep accounts, as well as insurance brokerage services and equipment financing solutions. In addition, the company offers investment management and financial planning services; treasury management services; advisory and coordination services in the areas of estate planning, retirement planning, and charitable and business ownership issues; and financial, investment, and economic advisory and related services. Further, it provides support services, including the processing and transmission of financial and economic data for charitable organizations. The company operates through a network of 28 branch offices and 3 loan production offices in California, Nevada, Texas, and Hawaii. First Foundation Inc. was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

About SVB Financial Group

SVB Financial Group, a diversified financial services company, offers various banking and financial products and services. It operates through four segments: Silicon Valley Bank, SVB Private, SVB Capital, and SVB Securities. The Silicon Valley Bank segment provides commercial banking products and services, including credit, treasury management, foreign exchange, trade finance, and other financial products and services. This segment also offers traditional term, growth capital term, and equipment loans, asset-based loans, revolving lines of credit, warehouse facilities, recurring revenue and acquisition finance facilities, mezzanine lending, corporate working capital facilities, and credit card programs; treasury management products and services; business and analysis checking, money market, multi-currency, in-country bank, and sweep accounts; receivables services, which include merchant services, remote capture, lockbox, and fraud control services; wire transfer and automated clearing house payment services; business bill pay, credit and debit cards, account analysis, and disbursement services. In addition, it offers foreign exchange and trade finance products and services; letters of credit; and investment services and solutions. The SVB Private segment offers mortgages, home equity lines of credit, restricted and private stock loans, capital call lines of credit, and other secured and unsecured lending products; planning-based financial strategies, wealth management, family office, financial planning, tax planning, and trust services; and real estate secured loans. The SVB Capital segment provides venture capital investment services. The SVB Securities segment provides investment banking services; products and services, including capital raising, merger and acquisition advisory, equity research, and sales and trading. The company was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, California. On March 17, 2023, SVB Financial Group, filed a voluntary petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.