Comparing First Foundation (NASDAQ:FFWM) and Origin Bancorp (NASDAQ:OBK)

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

Profitability

This table compares Origin Bancorp and First Foundation’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Origin Bancorp	12.34%	6.91%	0.77%
First Foundation	-13.94%	-0.73%	-0.05%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

54.7% of Origin Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 73.1% of First Foundation shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.4% of Origin Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 9.5% of First Foundation shares are owned by company 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.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Origin Bancorp and First Foundation”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Origin Bancorp	$358.20 million	3.34	$76.49 million	$2.44	15.75
First Foundation	$69.21 million	6.43	-$92.41 million	($1.27)	-4.26

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Origin Bancorp and First Foundation, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Origin Bancorp	0	0	5	0	3.00
First Foundation	0	2	1	0	2.33

Origin Bancorp presently has a consensus target price of $42.20, suggesting a potential upside of 9.82%. First Foundation has a consensus target price of $6.67, suggesting a potential upside of 23.34%. Given First Foundation’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe First Foundation is more favorable than Origin Bancorp.

Dividends

Origin Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. First Foundation pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Origin Bancorp pays out 24.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Foundation pays out -3.1% 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.

Risk and Volatility

Origin Bancorp has a beta of 0.83, indicating that its share price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Foundation has a beta of 0.97, indicating that its share price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Origin Bancorp beats First Foundation on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Origin Bancorp

Origin Bancorp, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for Origin Bank that provides banking and financial services to small and medium-sized businesses, municipalities, and retail clients in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. It offers noninterest and interest-bearing checking accounts, savings deposits, money market accounts, and time deposits; and offers commercial real estate, construction and land development, consumer, residential real estate, commercial and industrial, mortgage warehouse, and residential mortgage loans. The company also offers personal and commercial property, and casualty insurance products; and Internet banking and voice response information, mobile applications, cash management, overdraft protection, direct deposit, safe deposit boxes, U.S. savings bonds, and automatic account transfer services; and mobile and online banking, treasury management, mortgage origination and servicing facilities, peer-to-peer electronic pay solutions, and personal financial management solutions. The company was founded in 1912 and is headquartered in Ruston, Louisiana.

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.