First Western Financial (NASDAQ:MYFW) versus First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) Financial Survey

First Western Financial (NASDAQ:MYFW – Get Rating) and First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO – Get Rating) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, valuation, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for First Western Financial and First Community, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Western Financial	0	2	1	0	2.33
First Community	0	1	1	0	2.50

First Western Financial currently has a consensus price target of $30.67, indicating a potential upside of 78.19%. First Community has a consensus price target of $22.00, indicating a potential upside of 29.34%. Given First Western Financial’s higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe First Western Financial is more favorable than First Community.

Profitability

This table compares First Western Financial and First Community’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Western Financial	14.16%	8.71%	0.74%
First Community	21.91%	12.32%	0.87%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

51.3% of First Western Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 50.8% of First Community shares are owned by institutional investors. 18.2% of First Western Financial shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 5.1% of First Community shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares First Western Financial and First Community’s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Western Financial	$108.74 million	1.51	$21.70 million	$2.05	8.40
First Community	$62.69 million	2.06	$14.61 million	$1.91	8.91

First Western Financial has higher revenue and earnings than First Community. First Western Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than First Community, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

First Western Financial has a beta of 0.68, suggesting that its share price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Community has a beta of 0.52, suggesting that its share price is 48% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

First Western Financial beats First Community on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About First Western Financial

(Get Rating)

First Western Financial, Inc. operates as a financial holding company, which engages in the provision of wealth managements services. It operates through the following business segments: Wealth Management, Capital Management, and Mortgage. The Wealth Management segment consists of operations relating to its fully integrated wealth management business. The Capital Management segment includes operations relating to its institutional investment management services over proprietary fixed income, high yield and equity strategies, including acting as the advisor of three owned, managed and rated proprietary mutual funds. The Mortgage segment consists of operations relating to the origination and sale of residential mortgage loans. The company was founded by Scott C. Wylie and Warren Joseph Olsen in 2002 and is headquartered in Denver, CO.

About First Community

(Get Rating)

First Community Corp. is a bank holding company, which engages in the provision of commercial banking services through its subsidiary, First Community Bank. It operates through the following segments: Commercial and Retail Banking, Mortgage Banking, Investment Advisory and Non-Deposit, and Corporate. The Commercial and Retail Banking segment includes deposit and lending products and services to its commercial and retail customers. The Mortgage Banking segment offers mortgage origination services for loans that will be sold to investors in the secondary market. The Investment Advisory and Non-Deposit segment consists of investment advisory services and non-deposit products. The Corporate segment consists of parent company’s financial information, including interest on parent company debt and dividend income received from First Community Bank. The company was founded on November 2, 1994 and is headquartered in Lexington, SC.