Northwest Bancshares (NWBI) Competitors

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) and Northwest Bancshares (NASDAQ:NWBI) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, risk, dividends, media sentiment, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Does the media favor FFBC or NWBI?

In the previous week, Northwest Bancshares had 1 more articles in the media than First Financial Bancorp.. MarketBeat recorded 4 mentions for Northwest Bancshares and 3 mentions for First Financial Bancorp.. First Financial Bancorp.'s average media sentiment score of 0.71 beat Northwest Bancshares' score of 0.44 indicating that First Financial Bancorp. is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
First Financial Bancorp.	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Northwest Bancshares	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Is FFBC or NWBI more profitable?

First Financial Bancorp. has a net margin of 19.41% compared to Northwest Bancshares' net margin of 17.47%. First Financial Bancorp.'s return on equity of 10.57% beat Northwest Bancshares' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Financial Bancorp.	19.41%	10.57%	1.42%
Northwest Bancshares	17.47%	9.34%	1.05%

Is FFBC or NWBI a better dividend stock?

First Financial Bancorp. pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. Northwest Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.9%. First Financial Bancorp. pays out 38.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Northwest Bancshares pays out 71.4% 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 increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Do insiders & institutionals believe in FFBC or NWBI?

77.2% of First Financial Bancorp. shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 66.3% of Northwest Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.1% of First Financial Bancorp. shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of Northwest Bancshares shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Which has more risk & volatility, FFBC or NWBI?

First Financial Bancorp. has a beta of 0.98, meaning that its stock price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Northwest Bancshares has a beta of 0.72, meaning that its stock price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts recommend FFBC or NWBI?

First Financial Bancorp. presently has a consensus price target of $29.00, suggesting a potential upside of 23.14%. Northwest Bancshares has a consensus price target of $15.00, suggesting a potential upside of 28.87%. Given Northwest Bancshares' higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Northwest Bancshares is more favorable than First Financial Bancorp..

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Financial Bancorp.	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.25
Northwest Bancshares	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Which has stronger earnings & valuation, FFBC or NWBI?

First Financial Bancorp. has higher revenue and earnings than Northwest Bancshares. First Financial Bancorp. is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Northwest Bancshares, 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
First Financial Bancorp.	$1.62B	1.39	$228.83M	$2.50	9.42
Northwest Bancshares	$756.21M	1.97	$100.28M	$1.12	10.39

Summary

First Financial Bancorp. beats Northwest Bancshares on 14 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.