Comparing ING Group (NYSE:ING) and First Financial Corporation Indiana (NASDAQ:THFF)

ING Group (NYSE:ING) and First Financial Corporation Indiana (NASDAQ:THFF) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, risk, institutional ownership and earnings.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for ING Group and First Financial Corporation Indiana, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ING Group	0	3	4	1	2.75
First Financial Corporation Indiana	0	4	0	1	2.40

First Financial Corporation Indiana has a consensus target price of $88.00, suggesting a potential upside of 13.92%. Given First Financial Corporation Indiana’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe First Financial Corporation Indiana is more favorable than ING Group.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares ING Group and First Financial Corporation Indiana”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ING Group	$26.06 billion	4.03	$9.42 billion	$2.68	13.68
First Financial Corporation Indiana	$347.56 million	2.64	$79.21 million	$7.14	10.82

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

Dividends

ING Group pays an annual dividend of $0.78 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. First Financial Corporation Indiana pays an annual dividend of $2.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. ING Group pays out 29.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Financial Corporation Indiana pays out 31.4% 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. First Financial Corporation Indiana has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years. First Financial Corporation Indiana is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Risk and Volatility

ING Group has a beta of 0.84, meaning that its share price is 16% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Financial Corporation Indiana has a beta of 0.41, meaning that its share price is 59% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

4.5% of ING Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 72.7% of First Financial Corporation Indiana shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.0% of First Financial Corporation Indiana shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares ING Group and First Financial Corporation Indiana’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ING Group	28.15%	12.59%	0.61%
First Financial Corporation Indiana	23.32%	13.02%	1.43%

Summary

ING Group beats First Financial Corporation Indiana on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ING Group

ING Groep N.V. provides various banking products and services in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, rest of Europe, and internationally. It operates through five segments: Retail Netherlands, Retail Belgium, Retail Germany, Retail Other, and Wholesale Banking. The company accepts current and savings accounts. It also offers business lending products; SME loans; consumer lending products, such as residential mortgage loans and other consumer lending loans; and mortgages. In addition, the company provides working capital solutions; debt and equity market solutions; various loans; payments; and cash management, trade and corporate finance, and treasury services, as well as savings, investment, insurance, and digital banking services. It serves individual customers, corporate clients, and financial institutions. ING Groep N.V. was founded in 1762 and is headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

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.