Critical Survey: First Western Financial (NASDAQ:MYFW) versus BNCCORP (OTCMKTS:BNCC)

First Western Financial (NASDAQ:MYFW) and BNCCORP (OTCMKTS:BNCC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability, risk and valuation.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares First Western Financial and BNCCORP”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Western Financial	$180.33 million	1.30	$8.47 million	$1.29	18.65
BNCCORP	$52.44 million	2.10	$7.93 million	$2.50	12.40

First Western Financial has higher revenue and earnings than BNCCORP. BNCCORP 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.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for First Western Financial and BNCCORP, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Western Financial	1	2	2	0	2.20
BNCCORP	0	0	0	0	0.00

First Western Financial currently has a consensus price target of $24.33, indicating a potential upside of 1.14%. Given First Western Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe First Western Financial is more favorable than BNCCORP.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Western Financial	6.91%	4.91%	0.42%
BNCCORP	15.94%	8.95%	0.91%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

60.3% of First Western Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 15.5% of First Western Financial shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 28.4% of BNCCORP shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

First Western Financial has a beta of 0.81, indicating that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BNCCORP has a beta of 0.4, indicating that its stock price is 60% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

First Western Financial beats BNCCORP on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About BNCCORP

BNCCORP, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for BNC National Bank that provides community banking, retail and mortgage banking, and wealth management services to businesses and consumers. The company offers commercial banking services, including business financing, commercial real estate lending, small business administration loans, business checking, cash management, corporate credit cards, and merchant services to small to middle-market businesses. It also provides retail and mortgage banking services, such as personal checking and savings products, personal loans, and card services; and residential loans through a consumer direct channel, as well as a retail channel. In addition, the company offers wealth management solutions, including 401(k) and other retirement plans, trust services, and personal wealth advisory services. It offers community banking and wealth management services through 11 locations in Arizona and North Dakota; and mortgage banking services through 7 locations in Arizona, North Dakota, Illinois, and Kansas. The company was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Bismarck, North Dakota.