FinWise Bancorp (NASDAQ:FINW) vs. First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN) Critical Comparison

First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN) and FinWise Bancorp (NASDAQ:FINW) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, valuation, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for First Financial Bankshares and FinWise Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Financial Bankshares	0	3	1	0	2.25
FinWise Bancorp	0	1	4	0	2.80

First Financial Bankshares presently has a consensus price target of $38.00, indicating a potential upside of 22.07%. FinWise Bancorp has a consensus price target of $21.75, indicating a potential upside of 22.26%. Given FinWise Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe FinWise Bancorp is more favorable than First Financial Bankshares.

Volatility & Risk

First Financial Bankshares has a beta of 0.85, meaning that its stock price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, FinWise Bancorp has a beta of 0.82, meaning that its stock price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares First Financial Bankshares and FinWise Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Financial Bankshares	29.81%	14.16%	1.69%
FinWise Bancorp	12.13%	8.31%	1.82%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares First Financial Bankshares and FinWise Bancorp”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Financial Bankshares	$752.91 million	5.92	$223.51 million	$1.69	18.42
FinWise Bancorp	$96.84 million	2.50	$12.74 million	$1.06	16.78

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

69.8% of First Financial Bankshares shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 35.4% of FinWise Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.0% of First Financial Bankshares shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 21.3% of FinWise Bancorp shares are owned by 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.

Summary

First Financial Bankshares beats FinWise Bancorp on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About First Financial Bankshares

First Financial Bankshares, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides commercial banking products and services in Texas. The company offers checking, savings and time deposits; automated teller machines, drive-in, and night deposit services; safe deposit facilities, remote deposit capture, internet banking, mobile banking, payroll cards, funds transfer, and performing other customary commercial banking services; securities brokerage services; and trust and wealth management services, including wealth management, estates administration, oil and gas management, testamentary trusts, revocable and irrevocable trusts, and agency accounts. It also provides commercial and industrial, municipal, agricultural, construction and development, farm, residential, and consumer auto and non-auto, as well as non-owner occupied and owner occupied commercial real estate loans. In addition, the company offers advisory and specialized services related to asset management, investing, purchasing, advertising, public relations, and technology services. First Financial Bankshares, Inc. was founded in 1890 and is headquartered in Abilene, Texas.

About FinWise Bancorp

FinWise Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for FinWise Bank that provides various banking products and services to individual and corporate customers in Utah. The company offers various deposit products, including interest and noninterest bearing demand accounts, health savings account demand deposits, NOW and money market accounts, and checking and savings accounts, as well as time deposits and certificates of deposits. It also provides loans, including consumer, small business administration, commercial, commercial real estate, and residential real estate loans. In addition, the company offers debit cards, remote deposit capture, online banking, mobile banking, and direct deposit services; and business accounts and cash management services, such as business checking and savings accounts, and treasury services. FinWise Bancorp was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Murray, Utah.