Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) and Bank First (NASDAQ:BFC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation and risk.
Dividends
Westamerica Bancorporation pays an annual dividend of $1.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Bank First pays an annual dividend of $0.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Westamerica Bancorporation pays out 55.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Bank First pays out 21.7% 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. Westamerica Bancorporation has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Bank First has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years.
Profitability
This table compares Westamerica Bancorporation and Bank First's net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
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Westamerica Bancorporation | 37.49% | 10.07% | 1.27% |
Bank First | 28.94% | 13.19% | 1.40% |
Volatility and Risk
Westamerica Bancorporation has a beta of 0.7, indicating that its share price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bank First has a beta of 0.38, indicating that its share price is 62% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Westamerica Bancorporation and Bank First, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
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Westamerica Bancorporation | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.50 |
Bank First | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
Westamerica Bancorporation presently has a consensus target price of $66.50, indicating a potential upside of 5.54%. Bank First has a consensus target price of $60.00, indicating a potential downside of 14.10%. Given Westamerica Bancorporation's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Westamerica Bancorporation is more favorable than Bank First.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
77.4% of Westamerica Bancorporation shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 25.2% of Bank First shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.3% of Westamerica Bancorporation shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.7% of Bank First shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Westamerica Bancorporation and Bank First's top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
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Westamerica Bancorporation | $206.09 million | 8.19 | $80.39 million | $2.98 | 21.13 |
Bank First | $101.80 million | 5.27 | $26.69 million | $3.87 | 17.92 |
Westamerica Bancorporation has higher revenue and earnings than Bank First. Bank First is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Westamerica Bancorporation, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
Westamerica Bancorporation beats Bank First on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.