Red River Bancshares (NASDAQ:RRBI) vs. First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Head to Head Survey

Red River Bancshares (NASDAQ:RRBI) and First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, earnings, valuation and institutional ownership.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

27.6% of Red River Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 77.2% of First Financial Bancorp. shares are owned by institutional investors. 16.6% of Red River Bancshares shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of First Financial Bancorp. shares are owned by 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.

Risk & Volatility

Red River Bancshares has a beta of 0.41, suggesting that its stock price is 59% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Financial Bancorp. has a beta of 0.91, suggesting that its stock price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Red River Bancshares and First Financial Bancorp.”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Red River Bancshares	$169.85 million	4.00	$42.76 million	$6.95	14.87
First Financial Bancorp.	$1.26 billion	2.71	$255.60 million	$2.83	11.49

First Financial Bancorp. has higher revenue and earnings than Red River Bancshares. First Financial Bancorp. is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Red River Bancshares, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Red River Bancshares and First Financial Bancorp., as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Red River Bancshares	0	3	1	0	2.25
First Financial Bancorp.	0	4	4	0	2.50

Red River Bancshares presently has a consensus target price of $106.00, suggesting a potential upside of 2.57%. First Financial Bancorp. has a consensus target price of $33.67, suggesting a potential upside of 3.54%. Given First Financial Bancorp.’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe First Financial Bancorp. is more favorable than Red River Bancshares.

Dividends

Red River Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. First Financial Bancorp. pays an annual dividend of $1.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Red River Bancshares pays out 14.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Financial Bancorp. pays out 36.7% 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. Red River Bancshares has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years and First Financial Bancorp. has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Profitability

This table compares Red River Bancshares and First Financial Bancorp.’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Red River Bancshares	26.25%	12.47%	1.39%
First Financial Bancorp.	20.77%	11.13%	1.49%

Summary

First Financial Bancorp. beats Red River Bancshares on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Red River Bancshares

Red River Bancshares, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for Red River Bank that provides banking products and services to commercial and retail customers in Louisiana. The company provides various deposit products, including checking, saving, money market accounts, and time deposits. It offers commercial real estate loans; one-to-four family mortgage loans and home equity lines of credit; construction and development loans; commercial and industrial loans; small business administration paycheck protection program loans; tax-exempt loans; consumer loans to individuals for personal, family, and household purposes, including secured and unsecured installment and term loans; home mortgage loans; and lines of credit and standby letters of credit. In addition, the company provides treasury management, private banking, and brokerage; investment advisory, financial planning, and a suite of retirement plans; debit and credit cards, direct deposits, cashier's checks, and wire transfer services; online banking services, including access to account balances, online transfers, online bill payment, and electronic delivery of customer statements; and banking services in person, through ATMs, drive-through facilities, night deposits, telephone, mail, mobile banking, and remote deposits. Red River Bancshares, Inc. was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Alexandria, Louisiana.

About First Financial Bancorp.

First Financial Bancorp. operates as the bank holding company for First Financial Bank that provides commercial banking and related services to individuals and businesses in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Illinois. The company offers checking, savings, and money-market accounts; and accepts various deposit products, such as interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing accounts, time deposits, and cash management services for commercial customers. It also provides real estate loans secured by residential property, such as one to four family residential housing units or commercial property comprising owner-occupied and/or investor income producing real estate consisting of apartments, shopping centers, and office buildings; commercial and industrial loans for various purposes, including inventory, receivables, and equipment, as well as equipment and leasehold improvement financing for franchisees; consumer loans comprising new and used vehicle loans, second mortgages on residential real estate, and unsecured loans; and home equity lines of credit. In addition, the company offers commercial financing to the insurance industry, registered investment advisors, certified public accountants, indirect auto finance companies, and restaurant franchisees. Further, it provides a range of trust and wealth management services; lease and equipment financing services; and currency payments, foreign exchange hedging, and other advisory products. First Financial Bancorp. was founded in 1863 and is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.