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 businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, risk, institutional ownership, media sentiment, earnings, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Does the media favor FFBC or NWBI?

In the previous week, Northwest Bancshares had 2 more articles in the media than First Financial Bancorp.. MarketBeat recorded 4 mentions for Northwest Bancshares and 2 mentions for First Financial Bancorp.. First Financial Bancorp.'s average media sentiment score of 1.89 beat Northwest Bancshares' score of 0.69 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.	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Northwest Bancshares	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has higher valuation and earnings, 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	1.50	$228.83M	$2.41	10.56
Northwest Bancshares	$545.45M	3.14	$100.28M	$0.90	14.89

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 3.8%. Northwest Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.0%. 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 increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Do analysts rate FFBC or NWBI?

First Financial Bancorp. presently has a consensus target price of $28.75, suggesting a potential upside of 12.97%. Northwest Bancshares has a consensus target price of $15.00, suggesting a potential upside of 11.94%. Given First Financial Bancorp.'s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly 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 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 institutionals and insiders hold more shares of 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 company insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of Northwest Bancshares shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has more risk & volatility, FFBC or NWBI?

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

Summary

First Financial Bancorp. beats Northwest Bancshares on 15 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.