Critical Analysis: TriCo Bancshares (NASDAQ:TCBK) and First Northwest Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWB)

First Northwest Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWB) and TriCo Bancshares (NASDAQ:TCBK) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for First Northwest Bancorp and TriCo Bancshares, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Northwest Bancorp	2	1	2	0	2.00
TriCo Bancshares	0	4	3	0	2.43

First Northwest Bancorp currently has a consensus target price of $13.50, indicating a potential upside of 43.31%. TriCo Bancshares has a consensus target price of $48.60, indicating a potential upside of 3.10%. Given First Northwest Bancorp’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe First Northwest Bancorp is more favorable than TriCo Bancshares.

Volatility & Risk

First Northwest Bancorp has a beta of 0.6, indicating that its share price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, TriCo Bancshares has a beta of 0.64, indicating that its share price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

66.1% of First Northwest Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 59.1% of TriCo Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. 5.5% of First Northwest Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.8% of TriCo Bancshares shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares First Northwest Bancorp and TriCo Bancshares”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Northwest Bancorp	$124.95 million	0.71	-$6.61 million	$0.36	26.17
TriCo Bancshares	$531.04 million	2.89	$114.87 million	$3.56	13.24

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

Profitability

This table compares First Northwest Bancorp and TriCo Bancshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Northwest Bancorp	2.67%	2.10%	0.15%
TriCo Bancshares	21.87%	9.27%	1.19%

Summary

TriCo Bancshares beats First Northwest Bancorp on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About TriCo Bancshares

TriCo Bancshares operates as a bank holding company for Tri Counties Bank that provides commercial banking services to individual and corporate customers. The company accepts demand, savings, and time deposits. It also provides small business loans; real estate mortgage loans, such as residential and commercial loans; consumer loans; mortgage, auto, other vehicle, and personal loans; commercial loans, including agricultural loans; and real estate construction loans. In addition, the company offers treasury management services; credit and debit cards; and other customary banking services, including safe deposit boxes; and independent financial and broker-dealer services. Further, it provides checking, saving, and money market accounts, as well as individual retirement accounts; equipment financing; certificate of deposit account registry service; certificated of deposit; and IntraFi cash service. TriCo Bancshares was founded in 1975 and is headquartered in Chico, California.