Critical Contrast: First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN) and Credicorp (NYSE:BAP)

Credicorp (NYSE:BAP) and First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk and institutional ownership.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Credicorp and First Financial Bankshares, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Credicorp	0	2	5	0	2.71
First Financial Bankshares	0	6	0	1	2.29

Credicorp presently has a consensus price target of $431.80, indicating a potential upside of 16.55%. First Financial Bankshares has a consensus price target of $35.20, indicating a potential upside of 16.06%. Given Credicorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Credicorp is more favorable than First Financial Bankshares.

Profitability

This table compares Credicorp and First Financial Bankshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Credicorp	25.04%	20.52%	2.87%
First Financial Bankshares	33.16%	14.91%	1.89%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Credicorp and First Financial Bankshares”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Credicorp	$8.01 billion	4.36	$1.94 billion	$26.99	13.73
First Financial Bankshares	$833.20 million	5.22	$253.58 million	$2.03	14.94

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

Dividends

Credicorp pays an annual dividend of $14.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. First Financial Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $0.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Credicorp pays out 53.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Financial Bankshares pays out 43.3% 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. Credicorp has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years and First Financial Bankshares has increased its dividend for 15 consecutive years.

Volatility & Risk

Credicorp has a beta of 0.92, meaning that its share price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Financial Bankshares has a beta of 0.82, meaning that its share price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

89.8% of Credicorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 69.8% of First Financial Bankshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 15.9% of Credicorp shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.8% of First Financial Bankshares shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Credicorp beats First Financial Bankshares on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Credicorp

Credicorp Ltd. provides various financial, insurance, and health services and products primarily in Peru and internationally. It operates through Universal Banking, Insurance and Pensions, Microfinance, and Investment Banking and Equity Management segments. The Universal Banking segment grants various credits and financial instruments to individuals and legal entities; and various deposits and current accounts. The Insurance and Pensions segment issues insurance policies to cover losses in commercial property, transport, marine vessels, automobiles, life, health, and pensions; and management services for private pension funds. The Microfinance segment provides management of loans, deposits, and current accounts for small and microenterprises. The Investment Banking and Equity Management segment is involved in provision of brokerage and investment management services for corporations, institutional investors, governments, and foundations; structuring and placement of issues in the primary market; execution and negotiation of transactions in the secondary market; and structuring of securitization processes for corporate customers and manages mutual funds. The company was founded in 1889 and is headquartered in Lima, Peru.

About First Financial Bankshares

First Financial Bankshares, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides commercial banking products and services in Texas. The company offers checking, savings and time deposits; automated teller machines, drive-in, and night deposit services; safe deposit facilities, remote deposit capture, internet banking, mobile banking, payroll cards, funds transfer, and performing other customary commercial banking services; securities brokerage services; and trust and wealth management services, including wealth management, estates administration, oil and gas management, testamentary trusts, revocable and irrevocable trusts, and agency accounts. It also provides commercial and industrial, municipal, agricultural, construction and development, farm, residential, and consumer auto and non-auto, as well as non-owner occupied and owner occupied commercial real estate loans. In addition, the company offers advisory and specialized services related to asset management, investing, purchasing, advertising, public relations, and technology services. First Financial Bankshares, Inc. was founded in 1890 and is headquartered in Abilene, Texas.