Analyzing First Financial Northwest (NASDAQ:FFNW) and U.S.A Bank (OTCMKTS:USBK)

U.S.A Bank (OTCMKTS:USBK) and First Financial Northwest (NASDAQ:FFNW) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation and risk.

Profitability

This table compares U.S.A Bank and First Financial Northwest’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
U.S.A Bank	N/A	N/A	N/A
First Financial Northwest	1.34%	0.67%	0.07%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for U.S.A Bank and First Financial Northwest, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
U.S.A Bank	0	0	0	0	0.00
First Financial Northwest	0	2	0	0	2.00

First Financial Northwest has a consensus target price of $22.75, suggesting a potential upside of 0.84%. Given First Financial Northwest’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe First Financial Northwest is more favorable than U.S.A Bank.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

55.0% of First Financial Northwest shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.2% of First Financial Northwest shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

U.S.A Bank has a beta of -24.99, meaning that its stock price is 2,599% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Financial Northwest has a beta of 0.25, meaning that its stock price is 75% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares U.S.A Bank and First Financial Northwest”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
U.S.A Bank	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
First Financial Northwest	$37.56 million	5.54	$1.07 million	$0.11	205.09

First Financial Northwest has higher revenue and earnings than U.S.A Bank.

Summary

First Financial Northwest beats U.S.A Bank on 9 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About U.S.A Bank

As of July 10, 2010, U.S.A Bank was acquired by Customers Bank (Phoenixville, Pennsylvania). U.S.A Bank operates as a community bank in New York. It offers deposit products, Internet banking, ATM cards, consumer loans, and residential and commercial loans. U.S.A Bank was founded in 2005 and is based in Port Chester, New York.

About First Financial Northwest

First Financial Northwest, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for First Financial Northwest Bank that provides commercial banking services in Washington. The company offers a range of deposit products, including noninterest-bearing accounts, interest-bearing demand accounts, money market accounts, savings accounts, and certificates of deposit. Its loan products comprise one-to-four family residential loans; multifamily and commercial real estate loans; construction/land loans; business loans; and consumer loans, such as home equity loans, lines of credit, second mortgage term loans, auto loans, and savings account loans. The company also provides wealth management services; and online banking services, as well as debit cards and ATMs. The company was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in Renton, Washington.