Eagle Bancorp Montana (NASDAQ:EBMT) & First Western Financial (NASDAQ:MYFW) Head to Head Comparison

Eagle Bancorp Montana (NASDAQ:EBMT) and First Western Financial (NASDAQ:MYFW) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, institutional ownership and earnings.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Eagle Bancorp Montana and First Western Financial’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Eagle Bancorp Montana	$114.34 million	0.91	$10.06 million	$1.12	11.61
First Western Financial	$167.52 million	0.96	$5.22 million	$0.77	21.70

Eagle Bancorp Montana has higher earnings, but lower revenue than First Western Financial. Eagle Bancorp Montana 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.

Volatility & Risk

Eagle Bancorp Montana has a beta of 0.53, indicating that its share price is 47% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Western Financial has a beta of 0.6, indicating that its share price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Eagle Bancorp Montana	7.39%	5.29%	0.42%
First Western Financial	4.28%	3.43%	0.28%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Eagle Bancorp Montana and First Western Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Eagle Bancorp Montana	0	1	0	0	2.00
First Western Financial	0	0	1	0	3.00

Eagle Bancorp Montana currently has a consensus target price of $14.00, indicating a potential upside of 7.69%. First Western Financial has a consensus target price of $19.00, indicating a potential upside of 13.70%. Given First Western Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe First Western Financial is more favorable than Eagle Bancorp Montana.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

35.7% of Eagle Bancorp Montana shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 60.3% of First Western Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 6.7% of Eagle Bancorp Montana shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 17.9% of First Western Financial shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

First Western Financial beats Eagle Bancorp Montana on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Eagle Bancorp Montana

Eagle Bancorp Montana, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Opportunity Bank of Montana that provides various retail banking products and services to small businesses and individuals in Montana. It accepts various deposit products, such as checking, savings, money market, and individual retirement accounts, as well as certificates of deposit accounts. The company also provides 1-4 family residential mortgage loans, such as residential mortgages and construction of residential properties; commercial real estate loans, including multi-family dwellings, nonresidential property, commercial construction and development, and farmland loans; and second mortgage/home equity loans. In addition, it offers consumer loans, such as loans secured by collateral other than real estate, such as automobiles, recreational vehicles, and boats; personal loans and lines of credit; commercial business loans consisting of business loans and lines of credit on a secured and unsecured basis; construction loans; agricultural loans; and mortgage loan services. The company operates full-service branches and automated teller machines. Eagle Bancorp Montana, Inc. was founded in 1922 and is headquartered in Helena, Montana.

About First Western Financial

First Western Financial, Inc., a financial holding company, provides wealth advisory, private baking, personal trust, investment management, mortgage lending, and institutional asset management services. The company operates through two segments: Wealth Management and Mortgage. The Wealth Management segment provides deposit, loan, life insurance, and trust and investment management advisory products and services. The Mortgage segment engages in soliciting, originating, and selling mortgage loans into the secondary market. It serves entrepreneurs, professionals, high net worth individuals or families, and business and philanthropic organizations. First Western Financial, Inc. was incorporated in 2002 and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.