First Savings Financial Group (FSFG) Competitors

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

Which has stronger earnings & valuation, FSFG or BFST?

Business First Bancshares has higher revenue and earnings than First Savings Financial Group. First Savings Financial Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Business First 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 Savings Financial Group	$75.10M	2.18	$13.59M	$2.74	8.62
Business First Bancshares	$270.37M	2.48	$65.11M	$2.26	10.06

Is FSFG or BFST a better dividend stock?

First Savings Financial Group pays an annual dividend of $0.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Business First Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. First Savings Financial Group pays out 23.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Business First Bancshares pays out 24.8% 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 raised its dividend for 12 consecutive years. First Savings Financial Group is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Is FSFG or BFST more profitable?

Business First Bancshares has a net margin of 14.19% compared to First Savings Financial Group's net margin of 13.34%. Business First Bancshares' return on equity of 11.88% beat First Savings Financial Group's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Savings Financial Group	13.34%	8.79%	0.63%
Business First Bancshares	14.19%	11.88%	1.05%

Which has more volatility & risk, FSFG or BFST?

First Savings Financial Group has a beta of 0.45, suggesting that its share price is 55% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Business First Bancshares has a beta of 0.75, suggesting that its share price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer FSFG or BFST?

First Savings Financial Group received 104 more outperform votes than Business First Bancshares when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 58.04% of users gave Business First Bancshares an outperform vote while only 51.77% of users gave First Savings Financial Group an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
First Savings Financial Group	Outperform Votes 234 51.77%	Underperform Votes 218 48.23%
Business First Bancshares	Outperform Votes 130 58.04%	Underperform Votes 94 41.96%

Do institutionals and insiders believe in FSFG or BFST?

35.2% of First Savings Financial Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 47.3% of Business First Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 16.1% of First Savings Financial Group shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.5% of Business First Bancshares shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Do analysts rate FSFG or BFST?

First Savings Financial Group presently has a consensus target price of $27.33, suggesting a potential upside of 15.67%. Business First Bancshares has a consensus target price of $31.50, suggesting a potential upside of 38.58%. Given Business First Bancshares' stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Business First Bancshares is more favorable than First Savings Financial Group.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Savings Financial Group	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67
Business First Bancshares	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Does the media prefer FSFG or BFST?

In the previous week, Business First Bancshares had 9 more articles in the media than First Savings Financial Group. MarketBeat recorded 10 mentions for Business First Bancshares and 1 mentions for First Savings Financial Group. Business First Bancshares' average media sentiment score of 1.17 beat First Savings Financial Group's score of 0.00 indicating that Business First Bancshares is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
First Savings Financial Group	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Business First Bancshares	8 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Summary

Business First Bancshares beats First Savings Financial Group on 14 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.