Head-To-Head Survey: Farmers National Banc (NASDAQ:FMNB) vs. First Western Financial (NASDAQ:MYFW)

First Western Financial (NASDAQ:MYFW) and Farmers National Banc (NASDAQ:FMNB) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings and dividends.

Risk & Volatility

First Western Financial has a beta of 0.76, meaning that its share price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Farmers National Banc has a beta of 0.85, meaning that its share price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for First Western Financial and Farmers National Banc, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Western Financial	0	2	2	1	2.80
Farmers National Banc	1	2	1	0	2.00

First Western Financial presently has a consensus target price of $24.33, suggesting a potential downside of 6.41%. Farmers National Banc has a consensus target price of $14.50, suggesting a potential upside of 6.70%. Given Farmers National Banc’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Farmers National Banc is more favorable than First Western Financial.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Western Financial	7.08%	5.09%	0.43%
Farmers National Banc	19.50%	13.34%	1.14%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares First Western Financial and Farmers National 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	$186.36 million	1.35	$13.19 million	$1.35	19.26
Farmers National Banc	$279.92 million	1.83	$54.59 million	$1.45	9.37

Farmers National Banc has higher revenue and earnings than First Western Financial. Farmers National 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.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

60.3% of First Western Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 38.7% of Farmers National Banc shares are held by institutional investors. 17.9% of First Western Financial shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.9% of Farmers National Banc 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.

Summary

Farmers National Banc beats First Western Financial on 9 of the 15 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 Farmers National Banc

Farmers National Banc Corp. operates as a bank holding company for The Farmers National Bank of Canfield engages in the banking, trust, retirement consulting, insurance, and financial management businesses. It offers commercial and retail banking services, including checking, savings, and time deposit accounts; commercial, mortgage and installment, and home equity loans; home equity lines of credit, night depository, safe deposit box, money order, bank check, automated teller machine, Internet banking, travel card, E bond transaction, brokerage, and other services. The company also provides personal and corporate trust services in the areas of estate settlement, trust administration, employee benefit plans, and retirement services; property and casualty insurance products and services; and various insurance products through licensed representatives, as well as invests in municipal securities. The company was founded in 1887 and is headquartered in Canfield, Ohio.