Comparing Capital City Bank Group (NASDAQ:CCBG) & First Foundation (NASDAQ:FFWM)

First Foundation (NASDAQ:FFWM) and Capital City Bank Group (NASDAQ:CCBG) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk and dividends.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for First Foundation and Capital City Bank Group, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Foundation	0	4	1	0	2.20
Capital City Bank Group	0	3	2	0	2.40

First Foundation currently has a consensus target price of $7.80, indicating a potential upside of 31.09%. Capital City Bank Group has a consensus target price of $36.80, indicating a potential upside of 0.60%. Given First Foundation’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe First Foundation is more favorable than Capital City Bank Group.

Risk & Volatility

First Foundation has a beta of 1.34, meaning that its stock price is 34% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Capital City Bank Group has a beta of 0.56, meaning that its stock price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

First Foundation pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Capital City Bank Group pays an annual dividend of $0.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. First Foundation pays out -3.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Capital City Bank Group pays out 30.2% 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.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

73.1% of First Foundation shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 44.6% of Capital City Bank Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.1% of First Foundation shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 19.4% of Capital City Bank Group shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares First Foundation and Capital City Bank Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Foundation	-11.52%	1.06%	0.07%
Capital City Bank Group	19.42%	11.29%	1.21%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares First Foundation and Capital City Bank Group”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Foundation	$46.26 million	10.59	-$199.06 million	($1.12)	-5.31
Capital City Bank Group	$223.85 million	2.77	$52.26 million	$3.05	11.99

Capital City Bank Group has higher revenue and earnings than First Foundation. First Foundation is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Capital City Bank Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Capital City Bank Group beats First Foundation on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About First Foundation

First Foundation Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides banking services, investment advisory, wealth management, and trust services to individuals, businesses, and other organizations in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Banking and Wealth Management. It offers a range of deposit products, including personal and business checking accounts, savings accounts, interest-bearing demand deposit accounts, money market accounts, and time certificate of deposits; and loan products consisting of multifamily and single family residential real estate loans, commercial real estate loans, commercial term loans, and line of credits, as well as consumer loans, such as personal installment loans and line of credits, and home equity line of credits. The company also provides various specialized services comprising trust services, online and mobile banking, remote deposit capture services, merchant credit card services, ATM cards, Visa debit cards, and business sweep accounts, as well as insurance brokerage services and equipment financing solutions. In addition, it offers investment management and financial planning services; financial, investment, and economic advisory and related services; and treasury management services, such as bill pay, check/payee/ACH positive pay, wire origination, internal and external transfers, account reconciliation reporting, mobile deposit, lockbox, cash vault services and merchant processing. Further, the company provides support services, including the processing and transmission of financial and economic data for charitable organizations. It operates through a network of branch offices and loan production offices. The company was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

About Capital City Bank Group

Capital City Bank Group, Inc. operates as the financial holding company for Capital City Bank that provides a range of banking- related services to individual and corporate clients. The company offers financing for commercial business properties, equipment, inventories, and accounts receivable, as well as commercial leasing and letters of credit; treasury management services; and merchant credit card transaction processing services. It also provides commercial and residential real estate lending products, as well as fixed and adjustable-rate residential mortgage loans; personal, automobile, boat/RV, and home equity loans; and credit card programs. In addition, the company offers institutional banking services, including customized checking and savings accounts, cash management systems, tax-exempt loans, lines of credit, and term loans to meet the needs of state and local governments, public schools and colleges, charities, membership, and not-for-profit associations. Further, it provides consumer banking services comprising checking accounts, savings programs, interactive/automated teller machines, debit/credit cards, night deposit services, safe deposit facilities, and online and mobile banking services. Additionally, the company provides asset management for individuals through agency, personal trust, IRA, and personal investment management accounts; and various retail securities products, such as the U.S. government bonds, tax-free municipal bonds, stocks, mutual funds, unit investment trusts, annuities, life insurance, and long-term health care, as well as business, estate, financial, insurance and business planning, tax planning, and asset protection advisory services. Capital City Bank Group, Inc. was founded in 1895 and is headquartered in Tallahassee, Florida.