Contrasting BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) & Western New England Bancorp (NASDAQ:WNEB)

Western New England Bancorp (NASDAQ:WNEB) and BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, valuation, risk, institutional ownership, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Dividends

Western New England Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. BancFirst pays an annual dividend of $1.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. Western New England Bancorp pays out 33.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. BancFirst pays out 26.5% 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. BancFirst has raised its dividend for 31 consecutive years.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Western New England Bancorp and BancFirst”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Western New England Bancorp	$88.18 million	3.14	$15.27 million	$0.84	16.44
BancFirst	$960.40 million	3.91	$240.61 million	$7.41	15.09

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Western New England Bancorp and BancFirst, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Western New England Bancorp	0	3	1	0	2.25
BancFirst	0	3	0	1	2.50

Western New England Bancorp currently has a consensus target price of $15.50, indicating a potential upside of 12.24%. BancFirst has a consensus target price of $123.00, indicating a potential upside of 10.02%. Given Western New England Bancorp’s higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Western New England Bancorp is more favorable than BancFirst.

Risk and Volatility

Western New England Bancorp has a beta of 0.76, indicating that its stock price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BancFirst has a beta of 0.61, indicating that its stock price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Western New England Bancorp and BancFirst’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Western New England Bancorp	12.43%	6.78%	0.61%
BancFirst	25.61%	13.44%	1.70%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

67.9% of Western New England Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 51.7% of BancFirst shares are held by institutional investors. 6.6% of Western New England Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 31.7% of BancFirst shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

BancFirst beats Western New England Bancorp on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Western New England Bancorp

Western New England Bancorp, Inc. operates as the holding company for Westfield Bank that provides a range of commercial and retail banking products and services to individuals and businesses. The company accepts various deposit accounts, including interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing checking, commercial checking, business, nonprofit and municipal checking, savings, money market and sweep, individual retirement, and other savings accounts; time deposits; certificates of deposit; and interest on lawyer's trust accounts. It also offers residential real estate loans, including first mortgages, home equity loans, and home equity lines, and secured by one-to-four family residential properties; commercial and industrial loans, such as letters of credit, revolving lines of credit, working capital, equipment financing, and term loans; commercial mortgage loans; construction and land development loans; home equity loans comprising home equity revolving loans and lines of credit; and consumer loans, including automobile, spa and pool, collateral, and personal lines of credit. In addition, the company provides automated teller machine (ATM), telephone and online banking, remote deposit capture, cash management, overdraft and safe deposit facility, and night deposit services. The company was formerly known as Westfield Financial, Inc. and changed its name to Western New England Bancorp, Inc. in October 2016. The company was founded in 1853 and is headquartered in Westfield, Massachusetts.

About BancFirst

BancFirst Corporation operates as the bank holding company for BancFirst that provides a range of commercial banking services to retail customers, and small to medium-sized businesses. The company operates through BancFirst Metropolitan Banks, BancFirst Community Banks, Pegasus, Worthington, and Other Financial Services segments. It offers checking accounts, negotiable order of withdrawal accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, sweep accounts, club accounts, individual retirement accounts, and certificates of deposit, as well as overdraft protection and auto draft services. The company also provides commercial and agricultural non-real estate loans for working capital, facilities acquisition or expansion, purchase of equipment, and other needs; lending services that include private banking, energy, commercial and residential real estate, and commercial and industrial loans; and loans to finance purchases of consumer goods, such as automobiles, boats, household goods, vacations, and education. In addition, it engages in the investment management and administration of trusts for individuals, corporations, and employee benefit plans, as well as bond trustee and paying agent business for various Oklahoma municipalities and governmental entities; and provision of item processing, research, and other correspondent banking services to financial institutions and governmental units. Further, the company provides insurance agency services; depository and funds transfer, collection, safe deposit box, cash management, and other services. It serves customers in non-metropolitan trade centers and cities in the metropolitan statistical areas of Oklahoma. The company was formerly known as United Community Corporation and changed its name to BancFirst Corporation in November 1988. BancFirst Corporation was incorporated in 1984 and is headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.