First Western Financial (MYFW) Competitors

First Western Financial (NASDAQ:MYFW) and Southside Bancshares (NYSE:SBSI) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, media sentiment, valuation, profitability, dividends and institutional ownership.

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in MYFW or SBSI?

60.3% of First Western Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 55.7% of Southside Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. 15.5% of First Western Financial shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 6.0% of Southside Bancshares shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has more volatility & risk, MYFW or SBSI?

First Western Financial has a beta of 0.8, suggesting that its stock price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Southside Bancshares has a beta of 0.67, suggesting that its stock price is 33% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is MYFW or SBSI more profitable?

Southside Bancshares has a net margin of 19.49% compared to First Western Financial's net margin of 5.66%. Southside Bancshares' return on equity of 11.00% beat First Western Financial's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Western Financial	5.66%	4.04%	0.35%
Southside Bancshares	19.49%	11.00%	1.06%

Do analysts recommend MYFW or SBSI?

First Western Financial currently has a consensus target price of $24.33, indicating a potential downside of 0.44%. Given First Western Financial's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe First Western Financial is more favorable than Southside Bancshares.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Western Financial	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67
Southside Bancshares	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00

Does the media prefer MYFW or SBSI?

In the previous week, Southside Bancshares had 1 more articles in the media than First Western Financial. MarketBeat recorded 2 mentions for Southside Bancshares and 1 mentions for First Western Financial. First Western Financial's average media sentiment score of 0.94 beat Southside Bancshares' score of 0.01 indicating that First Western Financial is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
First Western Financial	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Southside Bancshares	0 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Which has better earnings and valuation, MYFW or SBSI?

Southside Bancshares has higher revenue and earnings than First Western Financial. Southside Bancshares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than First Western Financial, 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 Western Financial	$180.33M	1.32	$8.47M	$1.04	23.50
Southside Bancshares	$456.07M	2.07	$88.49M	$2.91	10.71

Summary

First Western Financial and Southside Bancshares tied by winning 8 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.