Southside Bancshares (SBSI) Competitors

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

Which has more volatility & risk, FFBC or SBSI?

First Financial Bancorp. has a beta of 0.96, suggesting that its share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Southside Bancshares has a beta of 0.67, suggesting that its share price is 33% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is FFBC or SBSI a better dividend stock?

First Financial Bancorp. pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Southside Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $1.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.8%. First Financial Bancorp. pays out 39.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Southside Bancshares pays out 49.5% 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 and Southside Bancshares has increased its dividend for 30 consecutive years. Southside Bancshares is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Does the media refer more to FFBC or SBSI?

In the previous week, Southside Bancshares had 3 more articles in the media than First Financial Bancorp.. MarketBeat recorded 15 mentions for Southside Bancshares and 12 mentions for First Financial Bancorp.. First Financial Bancorp.'s average media sentiment score of 0.82 beat Southside Bancshares' score of 0.15 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.	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	7 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Southside Bancshares	5 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	9 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Is FFBC or SBSI more profitable?

Southside Bancshares has a net margin of 19.40% compared to First Financial Bancorp.'s net margin of 18.65%. Southside Bancshares' return on equity of 11.10% beat First Financial Bancorp.'s return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Financial Bancorp.	18.65%	10.44%	1.38%
Southside Bancshares	19.40%	11.10%	1.06%

Which has higher valuation and earnings, FFBC or SBSI?

First Financial Bancorp. has higher revenue and earnings than Southside Bancshares. First Financial Bancorp. is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Southside 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.	$840.71M	2.83	$228.83M	$2.41	10.32
Southside Bancshares	$258.81M	3.52	$88.49M	$2.91	10.35

Do analysts recommend FFBC or SBSI?

First Financial Bancorp. currently has a consensus target price of $28.75, indicating a potential upside of 15.65%. Southside Bancshares has a consensus target price of $37.00, indicating a potential upside of 22.86%. Given Southside Bancshares' higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Southside 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
Southside Bancshares	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Do insiders & institutionals believe in FFBC or SBSI?

77.2% of First Financial Bancorp. shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 55.7% of Southside Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of First Financial Bancorp. shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 6.0% of Southside Bancshares shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Southside Bancshares beats First Financial Bancorp. on 10 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.