Critical Contrast: Benchmark Bankshares (OTCMKTS:BMBN) and First Foundation (NASDAQ:FFWM)

Benchmark Bankshares (OTCMKTS:BMBN) and First Foundation (NASDAQ:FFWM) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, dividends and risk.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Benchmark Bankshares and First Foundation, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Benchmark Bankshares	0	0	0	0	N/A
First Foundation	0	1	0	1	3.00

First Foundation has a consensus price target of $11.50, suggesting a potential upside of 63.82%. Given First Foundation’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe First Foundation is more favorable than Benchmark Bankshares.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Benchmark Bankshares and First Foundation’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Benchmark Bankshares	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
First Foundation	$174.85 million	2.27	-$199.06 million	($3.52)	-1.99

Benchmark Bankshares has higher earnings, but lower revenue than First Foundation.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

3.2% of Benchmark Bankshares shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 73.1% of First Foundation shares are held by institutional investors. 14.0% of Benchmark Bankshares shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 10.2% of First Foundation shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

Benchmark Bankshares has a beta of 0.29, suggesting that its share price is 71% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Foundation has a beta of 1.23, suggesting that its share price is 23% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Benchmark Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. First Foundation pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. First Foundation pays out -1.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Profitability

This table compares Benchmark Bankshares and First Foundation’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Benchmark Bankshares	N/A	N/A	N/A
First Foundation	-31.95%	1.80%	0.13%

Summary

First Foundation beats Benchmark Bankshares on 8 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Benchmark Bankshares

Benchmark Bankshares, Inc. operates as the holding company for Benchmark Community Bank that provides various banking products and services in the United States. The company accepts various deposits, such as checking, saving, commercial services, and youth accounts. Its loan products include personal, mortgage, other real estate, business, auto, and student loans. The company also offers credit and debit cards; wealth management services comprising financial solutions, financial and retirement planning, and portfolio management, as well as estate, charitable giving, and trust services; and reorder checks, safe deposit boxes, wire transfers, bill pay, and internet and mobile banking services. The company was founded in 1971 and is based in Kenbridge, Virginia.

About First Foundation

First Foundation Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides banking services, investment advisory, wealth management, and trust services to individuals, businesses, and other organizations in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Banking and Wealth Management. It offers a range of deposit products, including personal and business checking accounts, savings accounts, interest-bearing demand deposit accounts, money market accounts, and time certificate of deposits; and loan products consisting of multifamily and single family residential real estate loans, commercial real estate loans, commercial term loans, and line of credits, as well as consumer loans, such as personal installment loans and line of credits, and home equity line of credits. The company also provides various specialized services comprising trust services, online and mobile banking, remote deposit capture services, merchant credit card services, ATM cards, Visa debit cards, and business sweep accounts, as well as insurance brokerage services and equipment financing solutions. In addition, it offers investment management and financial planning services; financial, investment, and economic advisory and related services; and treasury management services, such as bill pay, check/payee/ACH positive pay, wire origination, internal and external transfers, account reconciliation reporting, mobile deposit, lockbox, cash vault services and merchant processing. Further, the company provides support services, including the processing and transmission of financial and economic data for charitable organizations. It operates through a network of branch offices and loan production offices. The company was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.