Bank First (BFC) Competitors

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) and Bank First (NASDAQ:BFC) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, community ranking and media sentiment.

Is ASB or BFC more profitable?

Bank First has a net margin of 29.00% compared to Associated Banc's net margin of 5.15%. Bank First's return on equity of 10.53% beat Associated Banc's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Associated Banc	5.15%	8.24%	0.82%
Bank First	29.00%	10.53%	1.56%

Does the media prefer ASB or BFC?

In the previous week, Associated Banc had 3 more articles in the media than Bank First. MarketBeat recorded 4 mentions for Associated Banc and 1 mentions for Bank First. Bank First's average media sentiment score of 1.89 beat Associated Banc's score of 0.99 indicating that Bank First is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
Associated Banc	Positive
Bank First	Very Positive

Which has better valuation and earnings, ASB or BFC?

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

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Associated Banc	$1.03B	3.91	$123.14M	$0.79	30.68
Bank First	$157.48M	6.79	$65.56M	$6.50	16.42

Which has more volatility and risk, ASB or BFC?

Associated Banc has a beta of 0.94, suggesting that its stock price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bank First has a beta of 0.35, suggesting that its stock price is 65% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in ASB or BFC?

Associated Banc received 226 more outperform votes than Bank First when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 47.71% of users gave Associated Banc an outperform vote while only 45.16% of users gave Bank First an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Associated Banc	Outperform Votes 240 47.71%	Underperform Votes 263 52.29%
Bank First	Outperform Votes 14 45.16%	Underperform Votes 17 54.84%

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in ASB or BFC?

83.0% of Associated Banc shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 30.0% of Bank First shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.5% of Associated Banc shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.1% of Bank First shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Is ASB or BFC a better dividend stock?

Associated Banc pays an annual dividend of $0.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. Bank First pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. Associated Banc pays out 116.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Bank First pays out 27.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Associated Banc has increased its dividend for 13 consecutive years. Associated Banc is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Do analysts prefer ASB or BFC?

Associated Banc presently has a consensus price target of $27.00, indicating a potential upside of 11.39%. Bank First has a consensus price target of $104.00, indicating a potential downside of 2.59%. Given Associated Banc's higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Associated Banc is more favorable than Bank First.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Associated Banc	0 Sell rating(s)	9 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
Bank First	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Summary

Associated Banc beats Bank First on 11 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.