Westamerica Bancorporation (WABC) Competitors

First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN) and Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, dividends, community ranking, media sentiment, risk, profitability, earnings and institutional ownership.

Which has more risk and volatility, FFIN or WABC?

First Financial Bankshares has a beta of 0.83, meaning that its stock price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Westamerica Bancorporation has a beta of 0.57, meaning that its stock price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media prefer FFIN or WABC?

In the previous week, First Financial Bankshares had 3 more articles in the media than Westamerica Bancorporation. MarketBeat recorded 3 mentions for First Financial Bankshares and 0 mentions for Westamerica Bancorporation. First Financial Bankshares' average media sentiment score of 1.30 beat Westamerica Bancorporation's score of 0.00 indicating that First Financial Bankshares is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
First Financial Bankshares	Positive
Westamerica Bancorporation	Neutral

Do analysts rate FFIN or WABC?

First Financial Bankshares currently has a consensus target price of $40.25, suggesting a potential upside of 9.29%. Westamerica Bancorporation has a consensus target price of $57.00, suggesting a potential upside of 15.85%. Given Westamerica Bancorporation's higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Westamerica Bancorporation is more favorable than First Financial Bankshares.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Financial Bankshares	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
Westamerica Bancorporation	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Is FFIN or WABC a better dividend stock?

First Financial Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Westamerica Bancorporation pays an annual dividend of $1.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. First Financial Bankshares pays out 46.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Westamerica Bancorporation pays out 33.8% 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 Financial Bankshares has raised its dividend for 14 consecutive years and Westamerica Bancorporation has raised its dividend for 33 consecutive years. Westamerica Bancorporation is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has better earnings and valuation, FFIN or WABC?

First Financial Bankshares has higher revenue and earnings than Westamerica Bancorporation. Westamerica Bancorporation is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than First Financial Bankshares, 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 Financial Bankshares	$752.91M	6.99	$223.51M	$1.56	23.61
Westamerica Bancorporation	$311.17M	4.22	$138.64M	$5.20	9.46

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in FFIN or WABC?

First Financial Bankshares received 74 more outperform votes than Westamerica Bancorporation when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 49.38% of users gave Westamerica Bancorporation an outperform vote while only 48.90% of users gave First Financial Bankshares an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
First Financial Bankshares	Outperform Votes 312 48.90%	Underperform Votes 326 51.10%
Westamerica Bancorporation	Outperform Votes 238 49.38%	Underperform Votes 244 50.62%

Is FFIN or WABC more profitable?

Westamerica Bancorporation has a net margin of 44.55% compared to First Financial Bankshares' net margin of 29.69%. Westamerica Bancorporation's return on equity of 16.15% beat First Financial Bankshares' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Financial Bankshares	29.69%	14.24%	1.66%
Westamerica Bancorporation	44.55%	16.15%	2.20%

Do institutionals and insiders believe in FFIN or WABC?

69.8% of First Financial Bankshares shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 81.9% of Westamerica Bancorporation shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.2% of First Financial Bankshares shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 4.4% of Westamerica Bancorporation shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Westamerica Bancorporation beats First Financial Bankshares on 11 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.