Comparing Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) and First Hawaiian (NASDAQ:FHB)

First Hawaiian (NASDAQ:FHB) and Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, risk and valuation.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

97.6% of First Hawaiian shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 55.4% of Sierra Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.6% of First Hawaiian shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 11.9% of Sierra Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares First Hawaiian and Sierra Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Hawaiian	23.65%	10.19%	1.16%
Sierra Bancorp	20.96%	11.90%	1.15%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares First Hawaiian and Sierra Bancorp”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Hawaiian	$1.17 billion	2.74	$276.27 million	$2.20	11.77
Sierra Bancorp	$201.98 million	2.45	$42.33 million	$3.12	11.95

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

Dividends

First Hawaiian pays an annual dividend of $1.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. Sierra Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. First Hawaiian pays out 47.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Sierra Bancorp pays out 33.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Sierra Bancorp has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years.

Risk & Volatility

First Hawaiian has a beta of 0.73, meaning that its share price is 27% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sierra Bancorp has a beta of 0.79, meaning that its share price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for First Hawaiian and Sierra Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Hawaiian	3	6	0	0	1.67
Sierra Bancorp	0	1	2	1	3.00

First Hawaiian presently has a consensus price target of $27.50, indicating a potential upside of 6.22%. Sierra Bancorp has a consensus price target of $38.50, indicating a potential upside of 3.27%. Given First Hawaiian’s higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe First Hawaiian is more favorable than Sierra Bancorp.

Summary

Sierra Bancorp beats First Hawaiian on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About First Hawaiian

First Hawaiian, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for First Hawaiian Bank that provides a range of banking products and services to consumer and commercial customers in the United States. It operates in three segments: Retail Banking, Commercial Banking, and Treasury and Other. The company offers various deposit products, including checking, savings, and time deposit accounts, and other deposit accounts. It also provides residential and commercial mortgage loans, home equity lines of credit and loans, automobile loans and leases, secured and unsecured lines of credit, installment loans, small business loans and leases, and construction lending, as well as commercial lease and auto dealer financing. In addition, the company offers wealth management, personal installment, individual investment and financial planning, insurance protection, trust and estate, private banking, investment management, retirement planning, and merchant processing services, as well as consumer and commercial credit cards. The company was formerly known as BancWest Corporation and changed its name to First Hawaiian, Inc. in April 2016. First Hawaiian, Inc. was founded in 1858 and is headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii.

About Sierra Bancorp

Sierra Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for Bank of the Sierra that provides retail and commercial banking services to individuals and businesses in California. It accepts various deposit products, such as checking accounts, savings accounts, money market demand accounts, time deposits, retirement accounts, and sweep accounts. The company's loan products include agricultural, commercial, consumer, real estate, construction, and mortgage loans. It also offers automated teller machines; electronic point-of-sale payment alternatives; online and automated telephone banking services; and remote deposit capture and automated payroll services for business customers. Sierra Bancorp was founded in 1977 and is headquartered in Porterville, California.