Critical Contrast: First Financial Corporation Indiana (NASDAQ:THFF) and FirstSun Capital Bancorp (NASDAQ:FSUN)

First Financial Corporation Indiana (NASDAQ:THFF) and FirstSun Capital Bancorp (NASDAQ:FSUN) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, dividends and risk.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares First Financial Corporation Indiana and FirstSun Capital Bancorp”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Financial Corporation Indiana	$307.51 million	2.41	$47.28 million	$6.24	10.02
FirstSun Capital Bancorp	$549.33 million	1.96	$75.63 million	$3.16	12.20

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

Volatility and Risk

First Financial Corporation Indiana has a beta of 0.43, meaning that its stock price is 57% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, FirstSun Capital Bancorp has a beta of 0.95, meaning that its stock price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares First Financial Corporation Indiana and FirstSun Capital Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Financial Corporation Indiana	21.70%	12.70%	1.32%
FirstSun Capital Bancorp	15.94%	9.00%	1.17%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

72.7% of First Financial Corporation Indiana shares are held by institutional investors. 3.7% of First Financial Corporation Indiana shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 12.5% of FirstSun Capital Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for First Financial Corporation Indiana and FirstSun Capital Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Financial Corporation Indiana	0	2	2	1	2.80
FirstSun Capital Bancorp	0	1	3	0	2.75

First Financial Corporation Indiana currently has a consensus price target of $60.00, suggesting a potential downside of 4.08%. FirstSun Capital Bancorp has a consensus price target of $43.33, suggesting a potential upside of 12.38%. Given FirstSun Capital Bancorp’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe FirstSun Capital Bancorp is more favorable than First Financial Corporation Indiana.

Summary

First Financial Corporation Indiana beats FirstSun Capital Bancorp on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About First Financial Corporation Indiana

First Financial Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides various financial services. The company offers non-interest-bearing demand, interest-bearing demand, savings, time, and other time deposits. It also provides commercial loans primarily to expand a business or finance asset purchases; residential real estate and residential real estate construction loans; and home equity loans and lines, secured loans, and cash/CD secured and unsecured loans. In addition, the company offers lease financing, trust account, depositor, and insurance services. The company was founded in 1834 and is headquartered in Terre Haute, Indiana.

About FirstSun Capital Bancorp

FirstSun Capital Bancorp engages in the provision of commercial banking services. It operates through the following segments: Banking, Mortgage Operations, and Corporate. The Banking segment consists of loans and provides deposits and fee-based services to consumer, business, and mortgage lending customers. The Mortgage Operations segment originates, sells, services, and manages market risk from changes in interest rates on one-to-four family residential mortgage loans to sell and hold. The company is founded on November 9, 1981 headquartered in Denver, CO.