Bank First National (NASDAQ:BFC) & Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) Head-To-Head Analysis

Bank First National (NASDAQ:BFC) and Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership and dividends.

Volatility & Risk

Bank First National has a beta of 0.42, indicating that its stock price is 58% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Webster Financial has a beta of 1.01, indicating that its stock price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Bank First National and Webster Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Bank First National	27.49%	11.89%	1.66%
Webster Financial	22.95%	11.31%	1.24%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

30.0% of Bank First National shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 85.6% of Webster Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 5.0% of Bank First National shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of Webster Financial shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Bank First National pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Webster Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Bank First National pays out 27.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Webster Financial pays out 26.2% 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. Bank First National has raised its dividend for 10 consecutive years. Webster Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Bank First National and Webster Financial”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Bank First National	$243.93 million	6.48	$71.50 million	$7.19	19.71
Webster Financial	$4.42 billion	2.65	$1.00 billion	$6.11	11.84

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Bank First National and Webster Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Bank First National	1	1	3	0	2.40
Webster Financial	1	11	4	0	2.19

Bank First National currently has a consensus price target of $161.00, indicating a potential upside of 13.64%. Webster Financial has a consensus price target of $73.96, indicating a potential upside of 2.25%. Given Bank First National’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Bank First National is more favorable than Webster Financial.

Summary

Bank First National beats Webster Financial on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Bank First National

Bank First Corporation operates as a holding company for Bank First, N.A. that provides consumer and commercial financial services to businesses, professionals, consumers, associations, individuals, and governmental authorities in Wisconsin. It offers checking, savings, money market, cash management, retirement, and health savings accounts; other time deposits; certificates of deposit; and residential mortgage products. The company's loan products include real estate loans, including commercial real estate, residential mortgage, and home equity loans; commercial and industrial loans for working capital, accounts receivable, inventory financing, and other business purposes; construction and development loans; residential 1-4 family loans; and consumer loans for personal and household purposes, including secured and unsecured installment loans, and revolving lines of credit. It also provides credit cards; ATM processing; insurance; data processing and other information technology; investment and safekeeping; treasury management; and online, telephone, and mobile banking services. The company was formerly known as Bank First National Corporation and changed its name to Bank First Corporation in June 2019. Bank First Corporation was founded in 1894 and is headquartered in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.

About Webster Financial

Webster Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Webster Bank, National Association that provides a range of financial products and services to individuals, families, and businesses in the United States. It operates through three segments: Commercial Banking, HSA Bank, and Consumer Banking. The Commercial Banking segment offers commercial real estate and equipment financing, business banking, asset-based lending, and commercial services; public sector finance; mortgage warehouse financing; sponsor and specialty financing services; credit, deposit, and cash flow management services; and wealth management solutions to business owners and operators, including trust, asset management, financial planning, insurance, retirement, and investment products, as well as treasury management services comprising derivative, treasury, accounts payable, accounts receivable, and trade products and services. This segment also provides commercial services, such as accounts receivable factoring and trade financing, payroll funding, and business process outsourcing. The HSA Bank segment offers health savings accounts, health reimbursement arrangements, flexible spending accounts, and commuter benefit services that are distributed directly to employers and individual consumers, as well as through national and regional insurance carriers, benefit consultants, and financial advisors. The Consumer Banking segment provides consumer deposit and fee-based services, residential mortgages, home equity lines, secured and unsecured loans, and credit cards to consumers; and small business banking products, such as credit, deposit, and cash flow management products to businesses and professional service firms. The company offers online and mobile banking services. Webster Financial Corporation was founded in 1935 and is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut.