First Guaranty Bancshares (FGBI) Competitors

First Guaranty Bancshares (NASDAQ:FGBI) and First Foundation (NASDAQ:FFWM) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their community ranking, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, institutional ownership, dividends, media sentiment, valuation and earnings.

Does the media prefer FGBI or FFWM?

In the previous week, First Foundation had 1 more articles in the media than First Guaranty Bancshares. MarketBeat recorded 3 mentions for First Foundation and 2 mentions for First Guaranty Bancshares. First Guaranty Bancshares' average media sentiment score of 1.12 beat First Foundation's score of 1.08 indicating that First Guaranty Bancshares is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
First Guaranty Bancshares	0 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
First Foundation	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts prefer FGBI or FFWM?

First Foundation has a consensus target price of $6.75, indicating a potential upside of 40.63%. Given First Foundation's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe First Foundation is more favorable than First Guaranty Bancshares.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Guaranty Bancshares	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00
First Foundation	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.20

Which has more volatility & risk, FGBI or FFWM?

First Guaranty Bancshares has a beta of 0.37, meaning that its share price is 63% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Foundation has a beta of 1.19, meaning that its share price is 19% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in FGBI or FFWM?

39.5% of First Guaranty Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 73.1% of First Foundation shares are owned by institutional investors. 46.4% of First Guaranty Bancshares shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 7.1% of First Foundation shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in FGBI or FFWM?

First Foundation received 116 more outperform votes than First Guaranty Bancshares when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 65.43% of users gave First Guaranty Bancshares an outperform vote while only 58.76% of users gave First Foundation an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
First Guaranty Bancshares	Outperform Votes 159 65.43%	Underperform Votes 84 34.57%
First Foundation	Outperform Votes 275 58.76%	Underperform Votes 193 41.24%

Which has higher earnings and valuation, FGBI or FFWM?

First Guaranty Bancshares has higher revenue and earnings than First Foundation. First Foundation is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than First Guaranty Bancshares, 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
First Guaranty Bancshares	$111.51M	1.09	$12.45M	$0.81	11.98
First Foundation	$53.19M	7.43	-$92.41M	-$1.34	-3.58

Is FGBI or FFWM more profitable?

First Guaranty Bancshares has a net margin of 5.04% compared to First Foundation's net margin of -13.94%. First Guaranty Bancshares' return on equity of 5.62% beat First Foundation's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Guaranty Bancshares	5.04%	5.62%	0.34%
First Foundation	-13.94%	-0.73%	-0.05%

Is FGBI or FFWM a better dividend stock?

First Guaranty Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. First Foundation pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. First Guaranty Bancshares pays out 4.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Foundation pays out -3.0% 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. First Foundation is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

First Guaranty Bancshares and First Foundation tied by winning 10 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.