Financial Survey: First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) & Farmers National Banc (NASDAQ:FMNB)

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) and Farmers National Banc (NASDAQ:FMNB) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, risk, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for First Financial Bancorp. and Farmers National Banc, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Financial Bancorp.	0	3	1	0	2.25
Farmers National Banc	0	1	1	0	2.50

First Financial Bancorp. currently has a consensus target price of $29.00, indicating a potential upside of 17.60%. Farmers National Banc has a consensus target price of $15.50, indicating a potential upside of 9.77%. Given First Financial Bancorp.’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe First Financial Bancorp. is more favorable than Farmers National Banc.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares First Financial Bancorp. and Farmers National Banc”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Financial Bancorp.	$1.62 billion	1.46	$228.83 million	$2.50	9.86
Farmers National Banc	$269.45 million	1.97	$45.95 million	$1.34	10.54

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

Profitability

This table compares First Financial Bancorp. and Farmers National Banc’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Financial Bancorp.	19.41%	10.57%	1.42%
Farmers National Banc	18.19%	12.02%	0.99%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

77.2% of First Financial Bancorp. shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 38.7% of Farmers National Banc shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of First Financial Bancorp. shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.0% of Farmers National Banc shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

First Financial Bancorp. pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Farmers National Banc pays an annual dividend of $0.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.8%. First Financial Bancorp. pays out 38.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Farmers National Banc pays out 50.7% 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.

Risk & Volatility

First Financial Bancorp. has a beta of 0.98, suggesting that its stock price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Farmers National Banc has a beta of 0.86, suggesting that its stock price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

First Financial Bancorp. beats Farmers National Banc on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About First Financial Bancorp.

First Financial Bancorp. operates as the bank holding company for First Financial Bank that provides commercial banking and related services to individuals and businesses in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Illinois. The company offers checking, savings, and money-market accounts; and accepts various deposit products, such as interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing accounts, time deposits, and cash management services for commercial customers. It also provides real estate loans secured by residential property, such as one to four family residential housing units or commercial property comprising owner-occupied and/or investor income producing real estate consisting of apartments, shopping centers, and office buildings; commercial and industrial loans for various purposes, including inventory, receivables, and equipment, as well as equipment and leasehold improvement financing for franchisees; consumer loans comprising new and used vehicle loans, second mortgages on residential real estate, and unsecured loans; and home equity lines of credit. In addition, the company offers commercial financing to the insurance industry, registered investment advisors, certified public accountants, indirect auto finance companies, and restaurant franchisees. Further, it provides a range of trust and wealth management services; lease and equipment financing services; and currency payments, foreign exchange hedging, and other advisory products. First Financial Bancorp. was founded in 1863 and is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.

About Farmers National Banc

Farmers National Banc Corp. operates as a bank holding company for The Farmers National Bank of Canfield engages in the banking, trust, retirement consulting, insurance, and financial management businesses. It offers commercial and retail banking services, including checking, savings, and time deposit accounts; commercial, mortgage and installment, and home equity loans; home equity lines of credit, night depository, safe deposit box, money order, bank check, automated teller machine, Internet banking, travel card, E bond transaction, brokerage, and other services. The company also provides personal and corporate trust services in the areas of estate settlement, trust administration, employee benefit plans, and retirement services; property and casualty insurance products and services; and various insurance products through licensed representatives, as well as invests in municipal securities. The company was founded in 1887 and is headquartered in Canfield, Ohio.