Analyzing First Hawaiian (NASDAQ:FHB) and John Marshall Bancorp (NASDAQ:JMSB)

First Hawaiian (NASDAQ:FHB) and John Marshall Bancorp (NASDAQ:JMSB) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares First Hawaiian and John Marshall Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Hawaiian	24.41%	10.27%	1.19%
John Marshall Bancorp	20.41%	9.16%	1.04%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

97.6% of First Hawaiian shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 39.1% of John Marshall Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.7% of First Hawaiian shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 12.6% of John Marshall Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

First Hawaiian pays an annual dividend of $1.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. John Marshall Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. First Hawaiian pays out 45.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. John Marshall Bancorp pays out 23.1% 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.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for First Hawaiian and John Marshall Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Hawaiian	3	6	2	0	1.91
John Marshall Bancorp	0	1	2	1	3.00

First Hawaiian currently has a consensus price target of $30.25, suggesting a potential upside of 18.12%. John Marshall Bancorp has a consensus price target of $25.00, suggesting a potential upside of 8.32%. Given First Hawaiian’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe First Hawaiian is more favorable than John Marshall Bancorp.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares First Hawaiian and John Marshall Bancorp”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Hawaiian	$1.17 billion	2.67	$276.27 million	$2.30	11.13
John Marshall Bancorp	$115.33 million	2.82	$21.23 million	$1.73	13.34

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

Volatility & Risk

First Hawaiian has a beta of 0.72, suggesting that its stock price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, John Marshall Bancorp has a beta of 0.58, suggesting that its stock price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

First Hawaiian beats John Marshall Bancorp on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About First Hawaiian

First Hawaiian, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for First Hawaiian Bank that provides a range of banking products and services to consumer and commercial customers in the United States. It operates in three segments: Retail Banking, Commercial Banking, and Treasury and Other. The company offers various deposit products, including checking, savings, and time deposit accounts, and other deposit accounts. It also provides residential and commercial mortgage loans, home equity lines of credit and loans, automobile loans and leases, secured and unsecured lines of credit, installment loans, small business loans and leases, and construction lending, as well as commercial lease and auto dealer financing. In addition, the company offers wealth management, personal installment, individual investment and financial planning, insurance protection, trust and estate, private banking, investment management, retirement planning, and merchant processing services, as well as consumer and commercial credit cards. The company was formerly known as BancWest Corporation and changed its name to First Hawaiian, Inc. in April 2016. First Hawaiian, Inc. was founded in 1858 and is headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii.

About John Marshall Bancorp

John Marshall Bancorp, Inc. is the bank holding company for John Marshall Bank. The Bank is headquartered in Reston, Virginia with eight full-service branches located in Alexandria, Arlington, Loudoun, Prince William, Reston, and Tysons, Virginia, as well as Rockville, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. The Bank is dedicated to providing exceptional value, personalized service and convenience to local businesses and professionals in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area. The Bank offers a comprehensive line of sophisticated banking products and services that rival those of the largest banks along with experienced staff to help achieve customers’ financial goals. Dedicated relationship managers serve as direct points-of-contact, providing subject matter expertise in a variety of niche industries including charter and private schools, government contractors, health services, nonprofits and associations, professional services, property management companies and title companies