Head-To-Head Comparison: First Northern Community Bancorp (OTCMKTS:FNRN) versus Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE)

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) and First Northern Community Bancorp (OTCMKTS:FNRN) 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, risk, dividends, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Risk & Volatility

Hope Bancorp has a beta of 0.87, suggesting that its stock price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Northern Community Bancorp has a beta of 0.09, suggesting that its stock price is 91% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Hope Bancorp and First Northern Community Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hope Bancorp	1	2	1	0	2.00
First Northern Community Bancorp	0	0	0	0	0.00

Hope Bancorp presently has a consensus target price of $13.75, suggesting a potential upside of 9.61%. Given Hope Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Hope Bancorp is more favorable than First Northern Community Bancorp.

Profitability

This table compares Hope Bancorp and First Northern Community Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hope Bancorp	5.81%	5.09%	0.62%
First Northern Community Bancorp	24.07%	10.79%	1.12%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

84.0% of Hope Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 17.9% of First Northern Community Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.2% of Hope Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 11.8% of First Northern Community Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Hope Bancorp and First Northern Community Bancorp”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hope Bancorp	$967.63 million	1.66	$61.59 million	$0.46	27.27
First Northern Community Bancorp	$84.67 million	2.60	$21.10 million	$1.32	10.68

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

Summary

Hope Bancorp beats First Northern Community Bancorp on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Hope Bancorp

Hope Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Bank of Hope that provides retail and commercial banking services for businesses and individuals in the United States. It accepts personal and business checking, money market, savings, time deposit, and individual retirement accounts. The company also offers loans comprising commercial and industrial loans to businesses for various purposes, such as working capital, purchasing inventory, debt refinancing, business acquisitions, international trade finance, other business-related financing, and loans syndication services; commercial real estate loans; residential mortgage loans; small business administration loans; and consumer loans, such as single-family mortgage, home equity, automobile, credit card, and personal loans. In addition, it provides internet banking and bill-pay, remote deposit capture, lock box, and ACH origination services; treasury management services; foreign currency exchange transactions; interest rate contracts and wealth management services; automated teller machine services; and engages in investment activities. Hope Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.

About First Northern Community Bancorp

First Northern Community Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for First Northern Bank of Dixon that provides commercial banking products and services to individuals, and small and medium sized businesses. The company accepts demand deposits, interest-bearing transaction deposits, savings and money market deposit accounts, and time deposits. It also offers commercial, commercial real estate, agriculture, residential mortgage, residential construction, and consumer loans. In addition, the company provides debit and credit cards; investment and brokerage services; alternative investment products, and fiduciary and other financial services; and equipment leasing, merchant card processing, payroll, and international banking services through third parties. Further, it offers cashier's checks, safe deposit boxes, and other customary banking services. The company operates branches located in the cities of Auburn, Colusa, Davis, Dixon, Fairfield, Orland, Rancho Cordova, Roseville, Sacramento, Vacaville, West Sacramento, Winters, Willows, and Woodland; satellite banking office inside a retirement community in the city of Davis; residential mortgage loan office in Davis; and commercial loan office in the Contra Costa County city of Walnut Creek. First Northern Community Bancorp was founded in 1910 and is headquartered in Dixon, California.