First Financial Corporation Indiana (NASDAQ:THFF – Get Free Report) and Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB – Get Free Report) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, valuation and dividends.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for First Financial Corporation Indiana and Metropolitan Bank, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| First Financial Corporation Indiana | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2.50 |
| Metropolitan Bank | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3.00 |
First Financial Corporation Indiana currently has a consensus target price of $87.25, suggesting a potential upside of 17.67%. Metropolitan Bank has a consensus target price of $105.00, suggesting a potential upside of 20.25%. Given Metropolitan Bank’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Metropolitan Bank is more favorable than First Financial Corporation Indiana.
Profitability
This table compares First Financial Corporation Indiana and Metropolitan Bank’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| First Financial Corporation Indiana | 23.32% | 13.02% | 1.43% |
| Metropolitan Bank | 14.31% | 10.22% | 1.01% |
Institutional and Insider Ownership
72.7% of First Financial Corporation Indiana shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.8% of Metropolitan Bank shares are held by institutional investors. 5.0% of First Financial Corporation Indiana shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.5% of Metropolitan Bank shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Dividends
First Financial Corporation Indiana pays an annual dividend of $2.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Metropolitan Bank pays an annual dividend of $1.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. First Financial Corporation Indiana pays out 31.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Metropolitan Bank pays out 17.7% 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 Corporation Indiana has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years. First Financial Corporation Indiana is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares First Financial Corporation Indiana and Metropolitan Bank”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| First Financial Corporation Indiana | $347.56 million | 2.54 | $79.21 million | $7.14 | 10.39 |
| Metropolitan Bank | $349.75 million | 3.10 | $71.10 million | $7.90 | 11.05 |
First Financial Corporation Indiana has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Metropolitan Bank. First Financial Corporation Indiana is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Metropolitan Bank, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Risk & Volatility
First Financial Corporation Indiana has a beta of 0.44, meaning that its share price is 56% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Metropolitan Bank has a beta of 1.03, meaning that its share price is 3% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Metropolitan Bank beats First Financial Corporation Indiana on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
About First Financial Corporation Indiana
First Financial Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides various financial services. The company offers non-interest-bearing demand, interest-bearing demand, savings, time, and other time deposits. It also provides commercial loans primarily to expand a business or finance asset purchases; residential real estate and residential real estate construction loans; and home equity loans and lines, secured loans, and cash/CD secured and unsecured loans. In addition, the company offers lease financing, trust account, depositor, and insurance services. The company was founded in 1834 and is headquartered in Terre Haute, Indiana.
About Metropolitan Bank
Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. operates as the bank holding company for Metropolitan Commercial Bank that provides a range of business, commercial, and retail banking products and services to small businesses, middle-market enterprises, public entities, and individuals in the New York metropolitan area. The company offers checking, savings, term deposit, money market, demand deposit, and other interest-bearing transaction accounts. It also provides lending products, including commercial real estate, multi-family, construction, and one-to four-family real estate loans; commercial and industrial loans; consumer loans; acquisition and renovation loans; loans to refinance or return borrower equity; loans on owner-occupied properties; working capital lines of credit; trade finance and letters of credit; and term loans. In addition, the company offers cash management services, as well as online and mobile banking, ACH, remote deposit capture, and debit cards. The company was formerly known as Metbank Holding Corp. and changed its name to Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. in January 2007. Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. was incorporated in 1997 and is headquartered in New York, New York.
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