Head-To-Head Review: First Northwest Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWB) and Bank of Marin Bancorp (NASDAQ:BMRC)

First Northwest Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNWB) and Bank of Marin Bancorp (NASDAQ:BMRC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares First Northwest Bancorp and Bank of Marin Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Northwest Bancorp	2.67%	2.10%	0.15%
Bank of Marin Bancorp	6.22%	5.25%	0.61%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for First Northwest Bancorp and Bank of Marin Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Northwest Bancorp	2	1	2	0	2.00
Bank of Marin Bancorp	0	2	3	1	2.83

First Northwest Bancorp presently has a consensus target price of $13.50, suggesting a potential upside of 38.89%. Bank of Marin Bancorp has a consensus target price of $28.40, suggesting a potential upside of 6.81%. Given First Northwest Bancorp’s higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe First Northwest Bancorp is more favorable than Bank of Marin Bancorp.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

66.1% of First Northwest Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 52.3% of Bank of Marin Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.5% of First Northwest Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.1% of Bank of Marin Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares First Northwest Bancorp and Bank of Marin Bancorp”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Northwest Bancorp	$124.95 million	0.74	-$6.61 million	$0.36	27.00
Bank of Marin Bancorp	$93.05 million	4.60	-$8.41 million	$0.62	42.89

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

Volatility and Risk

First Northwest Bancorp has a beta of 0.6, meaning that its share price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bank of Marin Bancorp has a beta of 0.85, meaning that its share price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Bank of Marin Bancorp beats First Northwest Bancorp on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About First Northwest Bancorp

First Northwest Bancorp operates as a bank holding company for First Fed Bank that provides commercial and consumer banking services to individuals, businesses, and nonprofit organizations in western Washington, the United States. The company accepts various deposit instruments, including checking, money market deposit, savings, and transaction accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. It also originates one- to four-family mortgage loans, commercial and multi-family real estate loans, construction and land loans, and commercial business loans, as well as consumer loans primarily consisting of automobile loans, and home-equity loans and lines of credit. First Northwest Bancorp operates branch offices in Clallam, Jefferson, King, Kitsap, and Whatcom Counties, Washington. First Northwest Bancorp was founded in 1923 and is based in Port Angeles, Washington.

About Bank of Marin Bancorp

Bank of Marin Bancorp operates as the holding company for Bank of Marin that provides a range of financial services primarily to small to medium-sized businesses, not-for-profit organizations, and commercial real estate investors in the United States. The company offers personal and business checking and savings accounts; and individual retirement, health savings, and demand deposit marketplace accounts, as well as time certificates of deposit, certificate of deposit account registry, and insured cash sweep services. It also provides commercial real estate, commercial and industrial, and consumer loans, as well as construction financing and home equity lines of credit. In addition, the company offers merchant and payroll services; commercial equipment leasing program; payment solutions; treasury management services; credit cards; and mobile deposit, remote deposit capture, automated clearing house, wire transfer, and image lockbox services. Further, it provides wealth management and trust services comprising customized investment portfolio management, financial planning, trust administration, estate settlement, and custody services, as well as 401(k) plan services; and automated teller machines, and telephone and digital banking services. The company was incorporated in 1989 and is headquartered in Novato, California.