First Northern Community Bancorp (OTCMKTS:FNRN) and FS Bancorp (NASDAQ:FSBW) Head to Head Contrast

First Northern Community Bancorp (OTCMKTS:FNRN) and FS Bancorp (NASDAQ:FSBW) 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, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership and dividends.

Volatility & Risk

First Northern Community Bancorp has a beta of 0.18, indicating that its share price is 82% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, FS Bancorp has a beta of 0.72, indicating that its share price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Northern Community Bancorp	22.64%	11.23%	1.08%
FS Bancorp	15.88%	11.35%	1.11%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares First Northern Community Bancorp and FS Bancorp”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Northern Community Bancorp	$84.67 million	2.09	$20.03 million	$1.28	8.78
FS Bancorp	$206.39 million	1.45	$35.02 million	$4.21	9.21

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for First Northern Community Bancorp and FS Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Northern Community Bancorp	0	0	0	0	0.00
FS Bancorp	0	1	0	0	2.00

FS Bancorp has a consensus price target of $44.00, suggesting a potential upside of 13.46%. Given FS Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe FS Bancorp is more favorable than First Northern Community Bancorp.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

17.9% of First Northern Community Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 63.9% of FS Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 13.0% of First Northern Community Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 12.7% of FS Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

FS Bancorp beats First Northern Community Bancorp on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

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

About FS Bancorp

FS Bancorp, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for 1st Security Bank of Washington that provides banking and financial services to local families, local and regional businesses, and industry niches. The company operates in two segments, Commercial and Consumer Banking; and Home Lending. It offers various deposit instruments, including checking accounts, money market deposit accounts, savings accounts, and certificates of deposit. The company provides one-to-four-family residential first mortgages, second mortgage/home equity loan products, non-mortgage commercial business loans, commercial real estate loans, and construction and development loans, as well as consumer loans, which primarily include personal lines of credit, credit cards, automobile, direct home improvement, loans on deposit, and recreational loans. It operates full bank service branches and home loan production offices in suburban communities in the greater Puget Sound area, including Snohomish, King, Pierce, Jefferson, Kitsap, Clallam, Grays Harbor, and Thurston counties; and a loan production office in the market area of the Tri-Cities. FS Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1936 and is headquartered in Mountlake Terrace, Washington.