Financial Contrast: Ohio Valley Banc (NASDAQ:OVBC) versus First Western Financial (NASDAQ:MYFW)

First Western Financial (NASDAQ:MYFW) and Ohio Valley Banc (NASDAQ:OVBC) 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, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, valuation, profitability and institutional ownership.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for First Western Financial and Ohio Valley Banc, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Western Financial	0	1	2	0	2.67
Ohio Valley Banc	0	0	0	0	0.00

First Western Financial currently has a consensus price target of $24.33, suggesting a potential upside of 7.53%. Given First Western Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe First Western Financial is more favorable than Ohio Valley Banc.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares First Western Financial and Ohio Valley Banc”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Western Financial	$180.33 million	1.22	$8.47 million	$1.19	19.02
Ohio Valley Banc	$88.93 million	2.01	$11.00 million	$2.94	12.92

Ohio Valley Banc has lower revenue, but higher earnings than First Western Financial. Ohio Valley Banc is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than First Western Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares First Western Financial and Ohio Valley Banc’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Western Financial	6.50%	4.55%	0.39%
Ohio Valley Banc	14.81%	8.95%	0.92%

Risk and Volatility

First Western Financial has a beta of 0.87, meaning that its share price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ohio Valley Banc has a beta of 0.1, meaning that its share price is 90% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

60.3% of First Western Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 22.1% of Ohio Valley Banc shares are held by institutional investors. 15.5% of First Western Financial shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 7.1% of Ohio Valley Banc shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

First Western Financial beats Ohio Valley Banc on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About First Western Financial

First Western Financial, Inc., a financial holding company, provides wealth advisory, private baking, personal trust, investment management, mortgage lending, and institutional asset management services. The company operates through two segments: Wealth Management and Mortgage. The Wealth Management segment provides deposit, loan, life insurance, and trust and investment management advisory products and services. The Mortgage segment engages in soliciting, originating, and selling mortgage loans into the secondary market. It serves entrepreneurs, professionals, high net worth individuals or families, and business and philanthropic organizations. First Western Financial, Inc. was incorporated in 2002 and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.

About Ohio Valley Banc

Ohio Valley Banc Corp. operates as the bank holding company for The Ohio Valley Bank Company that provides commercial and consumer banking products and services. The company operates in two segments, Banking and Consumer Finance. It accepts various deposit products, including checking, savings, time, and money market accounts, as well as individual retirement accounts, demand deposits, NOW accounts, and certificates of deposit. The company also provides various residential real estate loans, including one-to four-family residential mortgages; commercial loans for securing equipment, inventory, stock, commercial real estate, and rental property; and consumer loans secured by automobiles, mobile homes, recreational vehicles, and other personal property, as well as personal loans, unsecured credit card receivables, floor plan and student loans, and construction loans. In addition, it offers safe deposit box, wire transfer, credit card, home equity loans, and Internet banking services; and financial management online services, such as cash management and news updates related to repossession auctions, current rates, and general bank news. Further, the company provides automatic teller machines (ATMs), consumer finance, seasonal tax preparation, commercial property, and various liability insurance services, as well as trust and online-only consumer direct mortgage services. The company owns and operates ATMs, including off-site ATMs. It operates offices in Ohio and West Virginia. The company was founded in 1872 and is based in Gallipolis, Ohio.