Head-To-Head Contrast: First Western Financial (NASDAQ:MYFW) & UMB Financial (NASDAQ:UMBF)

First Western Financial (NASDAQ:MYFW) and UMB Financial (NASDAQ:UMBF) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, valuation and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares First Western Financial and UMB Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Western Financial	6.91%	4.91%	0.42%
UMB Financial	16.01%	12.15%	1.11%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

60.3% of First Western Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.8% of UMB Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 15.5% of First Western Financial shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 5.5% of UMB Financial shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for First Western Financial and UMB Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Western Financial	1	2	2	0	2.20
UMB Financial	0	3	9	1	2.85

First Western Financial presently has a consensus target price of $24.33, indicating a potential upside of 1.69%. UMB Financial has a consensus target price of $137.20, indicating a potential upside of 22.48%. Given UMB Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe UMB Financial is more favorable than First Western Financial.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares First Western Financial and UMB Financial”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Western Financial	$180.33 million	1.29	$8.47 million	$1.29	18.55
UMB Financial	$2.16 billion	3.94	$441.24 million	$8.83	12.69

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

Volatility and Risk

First Western Financial has a beta of 0.89, suggesting that its stock price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, UMB Financial has a beta of 0.8, suggesting that its stock price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

UMB Financial beats First Western Financial on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About First Western Financial

First Western Financial, Inc., a financial holding company, provides wealth advisory, private baking, personal trust, investment management, mortgage lending, and institutional asset management services. The company operates through two segments: Wealth Management and Mortgage. The Wealth Management segment provides deposit, loan, life insurance, and trust and investment management advisory products and services. The Mortgage segment engages in soliciting, originating, and selling mortgage loans into the secondary market. It serves entrepreneurs, professionals, high net worth individuals or families, and business and philanthropic organizations. First Western Financial, Inc. was incorporated in 2002 and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.

About UMB Financial

UMB Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company that provides banking services and asset servicing in the United States and internationally. The Commercial Banking segment provides commercial loans and credit card; commercial real estate financing; letters of credit; loan syndication, and consultative service; various business solutions including asset-based lending, mezzanine debt, and minority equity investment; and treasury management service, such as depository service, account reconciliation, cash management tool, accounts payable and receivable solution, electronic fund transfer and automated payment, controlled disbursement, lockbox service, and remote deposit capture service. The Institutional Banking segment offers fund, asset management, and healthcare service to institutional clients; and fund administration and accounting, investor service and transfer agency, mutual fund service, alternative investment service, fixed income sale, trading and underwriting, and corporate trust and escrow service, as well as institutional custody service. This segment also provides healthcare payment solution includes custodial service for health saving accounts and private label, multipurpose debit cards to insurance carriers, third-party administrator, software companies, employers, and financial institutions. The Personal Banking segment offers deposit account, retail credit card, private banking, installment loan, home equity line of credit, residential mortgage, as well as internet banking, ATM network, private banking, brokerage and insurance service, and investment advisory, custody, and trust services. It operates through a network of branches and offices. The company was founded in 1913 and is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri.