Comparing Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) & First Hawaiian (NASDAQ:FHB)

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) and First Hawaiian (NASDAQ:FHB) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings and risk.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Westamerica Bancorporation and First Hawaiian”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Westamerica Bancorporation	$274.65 million	4.78	$138.64 million	$4.78	10.49
First Hawaiian	$1.17 billion	2.75	$230.13 million	$1.84	13.88

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

Dividends

Westamerica Bancorporation pays an annual dividend of $1.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. First Hawaiian pays an annual dividend of $1.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. Westamerica Bancorporation pays out 38.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Hawaiian pays out 56.5% 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. Westamerica Bancorporation has raised its dividend for 34 consecutive years.

Profitability

This table compares Westamerica Bancorporation and First Hawaiian’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Westamerica Bancorporation	43.69%	13.86%	2.07%
First Hawaiian	20.36%	8.99%	0.99%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Westamerica Bancorporation and First Hawaiian, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Westamerica Bancorporation	0	3	0	0	2.00
First Hawaiian	4	3	0	0	1.43

Westamerica Bancorporation currently has a consensus target price of $52.50, indicating a potential upside of 4.71%. First Hawaiian has a consensus target price of $27.64, indicating a potential upside of 8.23%. Given First Hawaiian’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe First Hawaiian is more favorable than Westamerica Bancorporation.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

81.9% of Westamerica Bancorporation shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.6% of First Hawaiian shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.3% of Westamerica Bancorporation shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of First Hawaiian shares are owned 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.

Volatility & Risk

Westamerica Bancorporation has a beta of 0.64, indicating that its share price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Hawaiian has a beta of 0.83, indicating that its share price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Westamerica Bancorporation beats First Hawaiian on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Westamerica Bancorporation

Westamerica Bancorporation operates as a bank holding company for the Westamerica Bank that provides various banking products and services to individual and commercial customers. The company accepts various deposit products, including retail savings and checking accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. Its loan portfolio includes commercial, commercial and residential real estate, real estate construction, and consumer installment loans, as well as indirect automobile loans. The company was formerly known as Independent Bankshares Corporation and changed its name to Westamerica Bancorporation in 1983. The company was founded in 1884 and is headquartered in San Rafael, California.

About First Hawaiian

First Hawaiian, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for First Hawaiian Bank that provides a range of banking products and services to consumer and commercial customers in the United States. It operates in three segments: Retail Banking, Commercial Banking, and Treasury and Other. The company offers various deposit products, including checking, savings, and time deposit accounts, and other deposit accounts. It also provides residential and commercial mortgage loans, home equity lines of credit and loans, automobile loans and leases, secured and unsecured lines of credit, installment loans, small business loans and leases, and construction lending, as well as commercial lease and auto dealer financing. In addition, the company offers wealth management, personal installment, individual investment and financial planning, insurance protection, trust and estate, private banking, investment management, retirement planning, and merchant processing services, as well as consumer and commercial credit cards. The company was formerly known as BancWest Corporation and changed its name to First Hawaiian, Inc. in April 2016. First Hawaiian, Inc. was founded in 1858 and is headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii.