Northwest Bancshares (NWBI) Competitors

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

Does the media favor FFBC or NWBI?

In the previous week, Northwest Bancshares had 3 more articles in the media than First Financial Bancorp.. MarketBeat recorded 3 mentions for Northwest Bancshares and 0 mentions for First Financial Bancorp.. Northwest Bancshares' average media sentiment score of 0.50 beat First Financial Bancorp.'s score of 0.00 indicating that Northwest Bancshares is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
First Financial Bancorp.	Neutral
Northwest Bancshares	Neutral

Which has stronger earnings and 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	1.52	$228.83M	$2.41	10.68
Northwest Bancshares	$756.21M	2.29	$100.28M	$0.90	15.03

Which has more volatility and risk, FFBC or NWBI?

First Financial Bancorp. has a beta of 0.96, suggesting that its share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Northwest Bancshares has a beta of 0.7, suggesting that its share price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of FFBC or NWBI?

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

Is FFBC or NWBI more profitable?

First Financial Bancorp. has a net margin of 18.65% compared to Northwest Bancshares' net margin of 14.75%. First Financial Bancorp.'s return on equity of 10.44% beat Northwest Bancshares' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Financial Bancorp.	18.65%	10.44%	1.38%
Northwest Bancshares	14.75%	9.24%	1.02%

Do analysts rate FFBC or NWBI?

First Financial Bancorp. currently has a consensus price target of $28.75, indicating a potential upside of 11.69%. Northwest Bancshares has a consensus price target of $15.00, indicating a potential upside of 10.86%. Given First Financial Bancorp.'s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe First Financial Bancorp. is more favorable than Northwest Bancshares.

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

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 3.7%. Northwest Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.9%. First Financial Bancorp. pays out 39.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Northwest Bancshares pays out 88.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. First Financial Bancorp. has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Summary

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