First Savings Financial Group (FSFG) Competitors

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT) and First Savings Financial Group (NASDAQ:FSFG) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, media sentiment, valuation, earnings, community ranking and profitability.

Which has more volatility and risk, HBT or FSFG?

HBT Financial has a beta of 0.88, meaning that its stock price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Savings Financial Group has a beta of 0.75, meaning that its stock price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media prefer HBT or FSFG?

In the previous week, HBT Financial had 1 more articles in the media than First Savings Financial Group. MarketBeat recorded 2 mentions for HBT Financial and 1 mentions for First Savings Financial Group. First Savings Financial Group's average media sentiment score of 0.34 beat HBT Financial's score of 0.25 indicating that First Savings Financial Group is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
HBT Financial	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
First Savings Financial Group	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Is HBT or FSFG more profitable?

HBT Financial has a net margin of 24.68% compared to First Savings Financial Group's net margin of 10.10%. HBT Financial's return on equity of 14.70% beat First Savings Financial Group's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
HBT Financial	24.68%	14.70%	1.49%
First Savings Financial Group	10.10%	8.79%	0.62%

Which has stronger valuation and earnings, HBT or FSFG?

HBT Financial has higher revenue and earnings than First Savings Financial Group. HBT Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than First Savings Financial Group, 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
HBT Financial	$265.05M	2.65	$65.84M	$2.20	10.11
First Savings Financial Group	$70.48M	2.47	$13.59M	$1.98	12.72

Is HBT or FSFG a better dividend stock?

HBT Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. First Savings Financial Group pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. HBT Financial pays out 34.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Savings Financial Group pays out 30.3% 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. First Savings Financial Group has increased its dividend for 11 consecutive years.

Do analysts recommend HBT or FSFG?

HBT Financial currently has a consensus price target of $24.40, indicating a potential upside of 9.66%. First Savings Financial Group has a consensus price target of $27.50, indicating a potential upside of 9.21%. Given HBT Financial's higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe HBT Financial is more favorable than First Savings Financial Group.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
HBT Financial	1 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.20
First Savings Financial Group	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer HBT or FSFG?

First Savings Financial Group received 206 more outperform votes than HBT Financial when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 51.78% of users gave First Savings Financial Group an outperform vote while only 42.86% of users gave HBT Financial an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
HBT Financial	Outperform Votes 27 42.86%	Underperform Votes 36 57.14%
First Savings Financial Group	Outperform Votes 233 51.78%	Underperform Votes 217 48.22%

Do insiders & institutionals hold more shares of HBT or FSFG?

78.6% of HBT Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 35.2% of First Savings Financial Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 59.8% of HBT Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 16.1% of First Savings Financial Group shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

HBT Financial beats First Savings Financial Group on 14 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.