Contrasting Hingham Institution for Savings (NASDAQ:HIFS) & Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC)

Hingham Institution for Savings (NASDAQ:HIFS) and Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Hingham Institution for Savings and Community West Bancshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hingham Institution for Savings	25.94%	8.22%	0.88%
Community West Bancshares	16.86%	10.12%	1.16%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Hingham Institution for Savings and Community West Bancshares”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hingham Institution for Savings	$236.78 million	2.82	$54.55 million	$30.02	10.20
Community West Bancshares	$196.20 million	3.60	$38.17 million	$1.85	14.06

Hingham Institution for Savings has higher revenue and earnings than Community West Bancshares. Hingham Institution for Savings is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Community West Bancshares, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk & Volatility

Hingham Institution for Savings has a beta of 0.83, indicating that its stock price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Community West Bancshares has a beta of 0.81, indicating that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Hingham Institution for Savings and Community West Bancshares, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hingham Institution for Savings	0	0	1	0	3.00
Community West Bancshares	0	2	3	0	2.60

Community West Bancshares has a consensus price target of $28.17, suggesting a potential upside of 8.29%. Given Community West Bancshares’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Community West Bancshares is more favorable than Hingham Institution for Savings.

Dividends

Hingham Institution for Savings pays an annual dividend of $2.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Community West Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. Hingham Institution for Savings pays out 8.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Community West Bancshares pays out 25.9% 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.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

49.3% of Hingham Institution for Savings shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 33.8% of Community West Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. 9.0% of Community West Bancshares shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

About Hingham Institution for Savings

Hingham Institution for Savings provides various financial products and services to individuals and small businesses in the United States. It offers savings, checking, money market, demand, and negotiable order of withdrawal accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company provides commercial and residential real estate, construction, home equity, commercial, consumer, and mortgage loans. In addition, it offers ATMs, debit cards, and Internet-based banking services. The company offers its services through a network of offices in Boston; Washington, D.C.; and San Francisco Bay Area. Hingham Institution for Savings was incorporated in 1834 and is headquartered in Hingham, Massachusetts.

About Community West Bancshares

Community West Bancshares operates as the bank holding company for Community West Bank, N.A. that provides various financial products and services in California. The company offers deposit products, such as checking accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, and fixed rate and fixed maturity certificates of deposits; and cash management products. It also provides commercial, commercial real estate, consumer, manufactured housing, and small business administration loans, as well as agricultural loans for real estate and operating lines; home equity lines of credit collateralized by residential real estate; single family real estate loans; and installment loans consisting of automobile and general-purpose loans. The company serves small to medium-sized businesses and their owners, professionals, high-net worth individuals, and non-profit organizations. Community West Bancshares was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Goleta, California.