First Northwest Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWB) vs. Provident Bancorp (NASDAQ:PVBC) Head-To-Head Contrast

Provident Bancorp (NASDAQ:PVBC) and First Northwest Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWB) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation and institutional ownership.

Dividends

Provident Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. First Northwest Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Provident Bancorp pays out -2.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Northwest Bancorp pays out 16.3% 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.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Provident Bancorp and First Northwest Bancorp’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Provident Bancorp	$75.13 million	2.33	-$21.47 million	($1.65)	-6.01
First Northwest Bancorp	$79.17 million	1.57	$15.65 million	$1.72	7.51

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

Volatility & Risk

Provident Bancorp has a beta of 0.71, suggesting that its stock price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Northwest Bancorp has a beta of 0.7, suggesting that its stock price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Provident Bancorp and First Northwest Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Provident Bancorp	0	1	0	0	2.00
First Northwest Bancorp	0	1	0	0	2.00

Insider and Institutional Ownership

58.6% of Provident Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 53.7% of First Northwest Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.8% of Provident Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 4.4% of First Northwest Bancorp 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.

Profitability

This table compares Provident Bancorp and First Northwest Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Provident Bancorp	-29.35%	-12.91%	-1.57%
First Northwest Bancorp	15.20%	9.86%	0.74%

Summary

First Northwest Bancorp beats Provident Bancorp on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Provident Bancorp

Provident Bancorp, Inc. is a Maryland corporation that was formed in 2019 to be the successor corporation to Provident Bancorp, Inc., a Massachusetts corporation, and the holding company for The Provident Bank. The Provident Bank, a subsidiary of Provident Bancorp, Inc. is an innovative, commercial bank that finds solutions for its business and private clients.

About First Northwest Bancorp

First Northwest Bancorp operates as a bank holding company for First Fed Bank that provides commercial and consumer banking services to individuals, businesses, and nonprofit organizations in western Washington, the United States. The company accepts various deposit instruments, including checking, money market deposit, savings, and transaction accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. It also originates one- to four-family mortgage loans, commercial and multi-family real estate loans, construction and land loans, and commercial business loans, as well as consumer loans primarily consisting of automobile loans, and home-equity loans and lines of credit. First Northwest Bancorp operates branch offices in Clallam, Jefferson, King, Kitsap, and Whatcom Counties, Washington. The company was founded in 1923 and is based in Port Angeles, Washington.