Financial Comparison: WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) and First Northern Community Bancorp (OTCMKTS:FNRN)

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) and First Northern Community Bancorp (OTCMKTS:FNRN) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, valuation and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares WaFd and First Northern Community Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
WaFd	15.57%	8.57%	0.85%
First Northern Community Bancorp	23.58%	11.03%	1.08%

Risk and Volatility

WaFd has a beta of 0.9, suggesting that its stock price is 10% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Northern Community Bancorp has a beta of 0.18, suggesting that its stock price is 82% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for WaFd and First Northern Community Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
WaFd	0	4	0	0	2.00
First Northern Community Bancorp	0	0	0	0	0.00

WaFd presently has a consensus target price of $32.25, suggesting a potential upside of 5.15%. Given WaFd’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe WaFd is more favorable than First Northern Community Bancorp.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares WaFd and First Northern Community Bancorp”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
WaFd	$1.43 billion	1.69	$200.04 million	$2.63	11.66
First Northern Community Bancorp	$84.67 million	2.18	$20.03 million	$1.28	9.14

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

83.7% of WaFd shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 17.9% of First Northern Community Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.5% of WaFd shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 11.8% of First Northern Community Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

WaFd beats First Northern Community Bancorp on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About WaFd

WaFd, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Washington Federal Bank that provides lending, depository, insurance, and other banking services in the United States. The company offers deposit products, including business and personal checking accounts, and term certificates of deposit, as well as money market accounts and passbook savings accounts. It also provides single-family dwellings, construction, land acquisition and development, consumer lot, multi-family residential, commercial real estate, home equity, business, and consumer loans, as well as commercial and industrial loans. In addition, the company offers insurance brokerage services, such as individual and business insurance policies; holds and markets real estate properties; and debit and credit cards, as well as acts as the trustee. It serves consumers, mid-sized and large businesses, and owners and developers of commercial real estate. The company was formerly known as Washington Federal, Inc. and changed its name to WaFd, Inc in September 2023. WaFd, Inc was founded in 1917 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.

About First Northern Community Bancorp

First Northern Community Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for First Northern Bank of Dixon that provides commercial banking products and services to individuals, and small and medium sized businesses. The company accepts demand deposits, interest-bearing transaction deposits, savings and money market deposit accounts, and time deposits. It also offers commercial, commercial real estate, agriculture, residential mortgage, residential construction, and consumer loans. In addition, the company provides debit and credit cards; investment and brokerage services; alternative investment products, and fiduciary and other financial services; and equipment leasing, merchant card processing, payroll, and international banking services through third parties. Further, it offers cashier's checks, safe deposit boxes, and other customary banking services. The company operates branches located in the cities of Auburn, Colusa, Davis, Dixon, Fairfield, Orland, Rancho Cordova, Roseville, Sacramento, Vacaville, West Sacramento, Winters, Willows, and Woodland; satellite banking office inside a retirement community in the city of Davis; residential mortgage loan office in Davis; and commercial loan office in the Contra Costa County city of Walnut Creek. First Northern Community Bancorp was founded in 1910 and is headquartered in Dixon, California.