MidWestOne Financial Group (MOFG) Competitors

MidWestOne Financial Group (NASDAQ:MOFG) and First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, community ranking, risk, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, media sentiment, dividends and valuation.

Does the media refer more to MOFG or FFBC?

In the previous week, MidWestOne Financial Group and MidWestOne Financial Group both had 1 articles in the media. MidWestOne Financial Group's average media sentiment score of 1.64 beat First Financial Bancorp.'s score of 1.05 indicating that MidWestOne Financial Group is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
MidWestOne Financial Group	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
First Financial Bancorp.	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more risk and volatility, MOFG or FFBC?

MidWestOne Financial Group has a beta of 0.99, suggesting that its stock price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Financial Bancorp. has a beta of 0.94, suggesting that its stock price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is MOFG or FFBC more profitable?

First Financial Bancorp. has a net margin of 18.67% compared to MidWestOne Financial Group's net margin of 9.79%. First Financial Bancorp.'s return on equity of 10.52% beat MidWestOne Financial Group's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
MidWestOne Financial Group	9.79%	6.54%	0.54%
First Financial Bancorp.	18.67%	10.52%	1.38%

Is MOFG or FFBC a better dividend stock?

MidWestOne Financial Group pays an annual dividend of $0.97 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. First Financial Bancorp. pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. MidWestOne Financial Group pays out -27.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Financial Bancorp. pays out 39.8% 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. First Financial Bancorp. has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. First Financial Bancorp. is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Do analysts recommend MOFG or FFBC?

MidWestOne Financial Group presently has a consensus target price of $34.83, suggesting a potential upside of 22.31%. First Financial Bancorp. has a consensus target price of $29.25, suggesting a potential upside of 21.32%. Given MidWestOne Financial Group's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe MidWestOne Financial Group is more favorable than First Financial Bancorp..

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
MidWestOne Financial Group	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33
First Financial Bancorp.	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.25

Do institutionals & insiders hold more shares of MOFG or FFBC?

65.4% of MidWestOne Financial Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 77.2% of First Financial Bancorp. shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.5% of MidWestOne Financial Group shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.0% of First Financial Bancorp. shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has higher valuation and earnings, MOFG or FFBC?

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

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
MidWestOne Financial Group	$82.38M	7.20	-$60.29M	-$3.54	-8.05
First Financial Bancorp.	$840.71M	2.75	$228.83M	$2.41	10.00

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in MOFG or FFBC?

First Financial Bancorp. received 60 more outperform votes than MidWestOne Financial Group when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 52.31% of users gave MidWestOne Financial Group an outperform vote while only 46.14% of users gave First Financial Bancorp. an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
MidWestOne Financial Group	Outperform Votes 215 52.31%	Underperform Votes 196 47.69%
First Financial Bancorp.	Outperform Votes 275 46.14%	Underperform Votes 321 53.86%

Summary

First Financial Bancorp. beats MidWestOne Financial Group on 11 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.