Amerant Bancorp (NYSE:AMTB – Get Free Report) and First Northwest Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWB – Get Free Report) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, earnings and valuation.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Amerant Bancorp and First Northwest Bancorp”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Amerant Bancorp | $676.04 million | 1.77 | $52.42 million | $1.69 | 18.10 |
| First Northwest Bancorp | $67.58 million | 1.46 | -$4.19 million | ($0.01) | -1,039.00 |
Amerant Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than First Northwest Bancorp. First Northwest Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Amerant Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Dividends
Amerant Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. First Northwest Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Amerant Bancorp pays out 21.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Northwest Bancorp pays out -2,800.0% 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 Northwest Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.
Profitability
This table compares Amerant Bancorp and First Northwest Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Amerant Bancorp | 10.63% | 9.36% | 0.86% |
| First Northwest Bancorp | -0.04% | 0.62% | 0.05% |
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Amerant Bancorp and First Northwest Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Amerant Bancorp | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2.50 |
| First Northwest Bancorp | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2.25 |
Amerant Bancorp currently has a consensus price target of $30.25, suggesting a potential downside of 1.11%. First Northwest Bancorp has a consensus price target of $15.00, suggesting a potential upside of 44.37%. Given First Northwest Bancorp’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe First Northwest Bancorp is more favorable than Amerant Bancorp.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
42.1% of Amerant Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 66.1% of First Northwest Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 2.7% of Amerant Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 4.1% of First Northwest Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Risk and Volatility
Amerant Bancorp has a beta of 0.8, meaning that its share price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Northwest Bancorp has a beta of 0.63, meaning that its share price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Amerant Bancorp beats First Northwest Bancorp on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Amerant Bancorp
Amerant Bancorp Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Amerant Bank, N.A. that provides banking products and services to individuals and businesses in the United States and internationally. The company offers checking, savings, and money market accounts; and certificates of deposits. It also provides variable and fixed rate commercial real estate loans; loans secured by owner-occupied properties; loans to domestic and foreign individuals primarily secured by personal residence; working capital loans, asset-based lending, participations in shared national credits, purchased receivables, and small business administration loans; loans to financial institutions and acceptances; and consumer loans and overdrafts, such as automobile, personal, or loans secured by cash or securities and revolving credit card agreements. In addition, the company offers trust and estate planning products and services to high-net-worth customers, brokerage and investment advisory services in global capital markets, and wealth management and fiduciary services. Further, it provides debit and credit cards, night depositories, direct deposits, cashier’s checks, safe deposit boxes, letters of credit, and treasury management services, including wire transfer, remote deposit capture, and automated clearinghouse services; derivative instruments; and online and mobile banking, account balances, statements and other documents, online transfers and bill payment, and electronic delivery of customer statements services, as well as automated teller machines, and banking by mobile devices, telephone, and mail. As of December 31, 2021, the company operated 24 banking centers comprising 17 in Florida and 7 in Texas. It also operates loan production offices in Tampa, Florida. The company was formerly known as Mercantil Bank Holding Corporation and changed its name to Amerant Bancorp Inc. in June 2019. Amerant Bancorp Inc. was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Coral Gables, Florida.
About First Northwest Bancorp
First Northwest Bancorp operates as a bank holding company for First Fed Bank that provides commercial and consumer banking services to individuals, businesses, and nonprofit organizations in western Washington, the United States. The company accepts various deposit instruments, including checking, money market deposit, savings, and transaction accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. It also originates one- to four-family mortgage loans, commercial and multi-family real estate loans, construction and land loans, and commercial business loans, as well as consumer loans primarily consisting of automobile loans, and home-equity loans and lines of credit. First Northwest Bancorp operates branch offices in Clallam, Jefferson, King, Kitsap, and Whatcom Counties, Washington. First Northwest Bancorp was founded in 1923 and is based in Port Angeles, Washington.
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