Analyzing First Northern Community Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNRN) & Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) and First Northern Community Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNRN) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Fifth Third Bancorp and First Northern Community Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Fifth Third Bancorp	0	4	18	1	2.87
First Northern Community Bancorp	0	0	1	0	3.00

Fifth Third Bancorp presently has a consensus target price of $60.92, suggesting a potential upside of 20.78%. Given Fifth Third Bancorp’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Fifth Third Bancorp is more favorable than First Northern Community Bancorp.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Fifth Third Bancorp	15.89%	12.39%	1.20%
First Northern Community Bancorp	24.97%	10.68%	1.18%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Fifth Third Bancorp and First Northern Community Bancorp”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Fifth Third Bancorp	$10.49 billion	4.36	$2.52 billion	$2.93	17.21
First Northern Community Bancorp	$88.40 million	3.11	$21.13 million	$1.35	12.41

Fifth Third 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 Fifth Third Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

83.8% of Fifth Third Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 17.9% of First Northern Community Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of Fifth Third Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 11.9% of First Northern Community Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Fifth Third Bancorp beats First Northern Community Bancorp on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for Fifth Third Bank, National Association that engages in the provision of a range of financial products and services in the United States. It operates through three segments: Commercial Banking, Consumer and Small Business Banking, and Wealth and Asset Management. The Commercial Banking segment offers credit intermediation, cash management, and financial services; lending and depository products; and cash management, foreign exchange and international trade finance, derivatives and capital markets services, asset-based lending, real estate finance, public finance, commercial leasing, and syndicated finance for business, government, and professional customers. The Consumer and Small Banking segment provides a range of deposit and loan products to individuals and small businesses; home equity loans and lines of credit; credit cards; and cash management services. This segment also engages in the residential mortgage that include origination, retention and servicing of residential mortgage loans, sales and securitizations of loans, and hedging activities; indirect lending, including extending loans to consumers through automobile dealers, motorcycle dealers, powersport dealers, recreational vehicle dealers, and marine dealers; and home improvement and solar energy installation loans through contractors and installers. The Wealth & Asset Management segment provides various wealth management services for individuals, companies, and not-for-profit organizations. It offers retail brokerage services to individual clients; and broker dealer services to the institutional marketplace. This segment also provides wealth planning, investment management, banking, insurance, and trust and estate services; and advisory services for institutional clients comprising middle market businesses, non-profits, states, and municipalities. The company was founded in 1858 and is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.

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 to medium sized businesses. The company accepts demand deposits, interest-bearing transaction deposits, savings and money market accounts, and time deposits. Its loan portfolio comprises of commercial, commercial real estate, agriculture, residential mortgage, residential construction, and consumer loans. The company also offers 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. In addition, it provides issues cashier’s checks, safe deposit boxes rental, and other customary banking services. The company operates eleven full-service branches located in the cities of Auburn, Davis, Dixon, Fairfield, Rancho Cordova, Roseville, Sacramento, Vacaville, West Sacramento, Winters, and Woodland; a satellite banking office inside a retirement community in the city of Davis; a residential mortgage loan office in Davis; and a 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.