First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) and ChoiceOne Financial Services (NASDAQ:COFS) Head to Head Survey

ChoiceOne Financial Services (NASDAQ:COFS) and First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and valuation.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares ChoiceOne Financial Services and First Financial Bancorp.”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ChoiceOne Financial Services	$227.62 million	2.13	$28.18 million	$3.63	8.95
First Financial Bancorp.	$1.26 billion	2.58	$255.60 million	$2.83	10.92

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

Volatility and Risk

ChoiceOne Financial Services has a beta of 0.61, suggesting that its share price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Financial Bancorp. has a beta of 0.93, suggesting that its share price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for ChoiceOne Financial Services and First Financial Bancorp., as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ChoiceOne Financial Services	0	1	2	0	2.67
First Financial Bancorp.	0	3	5	0	2.62

ChoiceOne Financial Services presently has a consensus price target of $36.50, suggesting a potential upside of 12.38%. First Financial Bancorp. has a consensus price target of $34.00, suggesting a potential upside of 10.03%. Given ChoiceOne Financial Services’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe ChoiceOne Financial Services is more favorable than First Financial Bancorp..

Profitability

This table compares ChoiceOne Financial Services and First Financial Bancorp.’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ChoiceOne Financial Services	22.77%	12.04%	1.28%
First Financial Bancorp.	20.77%	11.13%	1.49%

Dividends

ChoiceOne Financial Services pays an annual dividend of $1.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. First Financial Bancorp. pays an annual dividend of $1.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. ChoiceOne Financial Services pays out 32.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Financial Bancorp. pays out 36.7% 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. ChoiceOne Financial Services has increased its dividend for 13 consecutive years and First Financial Bancorp. has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years. ChoiceOne Financial Services is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

19.9% of ChoiceOne Financial Services shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 77.2% of First Financial Bancorp. shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.5% of ChoiceOne Financial Services shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of First Financial Bancorp. shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

ChoiceOne Financial Services beats First Financial Bancorp. on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ChoiceOne Financial Services

ChoiceOne Financial Services, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for ChoiceOne Bank that provides banking services to corporations, partnerships, and individuals in Michigan. The company offers various deposit products, including time, savings, and demand deposits, safe deposit, and automated transaction machine services. It also provides commercial lending products, such as business, industry, agricultural, construction, inventory, and real estate loans; and consumer loans comprising direct and indirect loans to consumers and purchasers of residential and real properties. In addition, the company offers alternative investment products, which include annuities and mutual funds; and sells insurance policies, such as life and health for commercial and consumer clients. Further, it provides trust and wealth management services. ChoiceOne Financial Services, Inc. was founded in 1898 and is headquartered in Sparta, Michigan.

About First Financial Bancorp.

First Financial Bancorp. operates as the bank holding company for First Financial Bank that provides commercial banking and related services to individuals and businesses in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Illinois. The company offers checking, savings, and money-market accounts; and accepts various deposit products, such as interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing accounts, time deposits, and cash management services for commercial customers. It also provides real estate loans secured by residential property, such as one to four family residential housing units or commercial property comprising owner-occupied and/or investor income producing real estate consisting of apartments, shopping centers, and office buildings; commercial and industrial loans for various purposes, including inventory, receivables, and equipment, as well as equipment and leasehold improvement financing for franchisees; consumer loans comprising new and used vehicle loans, second mortgages on residential real estate, and unsecured loans; and home equity lines of credit. In addition, the company offers commercial financing to the insurance industry, registered investment advisors, certified public accountants, indirect auto finance companies, and restaurant franchisees. Further, it provides a range of trust and wealth management services; lease and equipment financing services; and currency payments, foreign exchange hedging, and other advisory products. First Financial Bancorp. was founded in 1863 and is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.