First Financial (THFF) Competitors

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) and First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their community ranking, risk, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, media sentiment, valuation, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Which has better valuation & earnings, FRME or THFF?

First Merchants has higher revenue and earnings than First Financial. First Merchants is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than First 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 Merchants	$626.71M	3.28	$201.40M	$3.42	10.28
First Financial	$217.76M	2.40	$47.28M	$4.00	11.03

Does the MarketBeat Community favor FRME or THFF?

First Merchants received 21 more outperform votes than First Financial when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 61.58% of users gave First Financial an outperform vote while only 60.26% of users gave First Merchants an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
First Merchants	Outperform Votes 364 60.26%	Underperform Votes 240 39.74%
First Financial	Outperform Votes 343 61.58%	Underperform Votes 214 38.42%

Is FRME or THFF a better dividend stock?

First Merchants pays an annual dividend of $1.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. First Financial pays an annual dividend of $2.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.6%. First Merchants pays out 40.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Financial pays out 51.0% 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 Merchants has raised its dividend for 13 consecutive years.

Does the media refer more to FRME or THFF?

In the previous week, First Merchants had 3 more articles in the media than First Financial. MarketBeat recorded 9 mentions for First Merchants and 6 mentions for First Financial. First Financial's average media sentiment score of 1.32 beat First Merchants' score of 0.84 indicating that First Financial is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
First Merchants	4 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
First Financial	4 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do insiders and institutionals believe in FRME or THFF?

73.9% of First Merchants shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 72.7% of First Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 1.4% of First Merchants shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 5.0% of First Financial shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Is FRME or THFF more profitable?

First Merchants has a net margin of 18.76% compared to First Financial's net margin of 15.37%. First Merchants' return on equity of 9.23% beat First Financial's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Merchants	18.76%	9.23%	1.12%
First Financial	15.37%	8.77%	0.93%

Do analysts recommend FRME or THFF?

First Merchants presently has a consensus price target of $48.20, suggesting a potential upside of 37.13%. First Financial has a consensus price target of $55.67, suggesting a potential upside of 26.20%. Given First Merchants' stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe First Merchants is more favorable than First Financial.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Merchants	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.80
First Financial	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67

Which has more volatility and risk, FRME or THFF?

First Merchants has a beta of 0.95, suggesting that its share price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Financial has a beta of 0.41, suggesting that its share price is 59% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

First Merchants beats First Financial on 15 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.