Contrasting First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) and Equitable Financial (OTCMKTS:EQFN)

Equitable Financial (OTCMKTS:EQFN) and First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, risk and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Equitable Financial and First Financial Bancorp., as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Equitable Financial	0	0	0	0	0.00
First Financial Bancorp.	0	3	1	0	2.25

First Financial Bancorp. has a consensus target price of $28.75, indicating a potential upside of 11.26%. Given First Financial Bancorp.’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe First Financial Bancorp. is more favorable than Equitable Financial.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Equitable Financial and First Financial Bancorp.”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Equitable Financial	$31.33 million	1.05	$2.71 million	N/A	N/A
First Financial Bancorp.	$840.71 million	2.94	$228.83 million	$2.41	10.72

First Financial Bancorp. has higher revenue and earnings than Equitable Financial.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

7.2% of Equitable Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 77.2% of First Financial Bancorp. shares are owned by institutional investors. 11.3% of Equitable Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of First Financial Bancorp. shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Equitable Financial has a beta of 0.08, meaning that its share price is 92% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Financial Bancorp. has a beta of 0.96, meaning that its share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Equitable Financial	9.82%	10.12%	0.97%
First Financial Bancorp.	18.65%	10.44%	1.38%

Summary

First Financial Bancorp. beats Equitable Financial on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Equitable Financial

Equitable Financial Corp. operates as the holding company for Equitable Bank that provides various banking products and services in Nebraska, the United States. The company offers checking and savings accounts; recorder checks; online and mobile banking; remote deposit capture; voice banking; credit card processing; debit and gift cards; and safe deposit boxes. It also provides home, home equity, auto, personal, real estate and construction, operating lines of credit, small business administration, and agricultural loans, as well as equipment financing. In addition, the company offers foreign currency and exchanges; financial planning; wealth management; investment advisory; and retirement services. It operates through branches located in Grand Island, North Platte, and Omaha. The company was founded in 1882 and is headquartered in Grand Island, Nebraska.

About First Financial Bancorp.

First Financial Bancorp. operates as the bank holding company for First Financial Bank that provides commercial banking and related services to individuals and businesses in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Illinois. The company offers checking, savings, and money-market accounts; and accepts various deposit products, such as interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing accounts, time deposits, and cash management services for commercial customers. It also provides real estate loans secured by residential property, such as one to four family residential housing units or commercial property comprising owner-occupied and/or investor income producing real estate consisting of apartments, shopping centers, and office buildings; commercial and industrial loans for various purposes, including inventory, receivables, and equipment, as well as equipment and leasehold improvement financing for franchisees; consumer loans comprising new and used vehicle loans, second mortgages on residential real estate, and unsecured loans; and home equity lines of credit. In addition, the company offers commercial financing to the insurance industry, registered investment advisors, certified public accountants, indirect auto finance companies, and restaurant franchisees. Further, it provides a range of trust and wealth management services; lease and equipment financing services; and currency payments, foreign exchange hedging, and other advisory products. First Financial Bancorp. was founded in 1863 and is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.