Head to Head Review: First Niles Financial (OTCMKTS:FNFI) and Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC)

First Niles Financial (OTCMKTS:FNFI) and Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends and profitability.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for First Niles Financial and Eastern Bankshares, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Niles Financial	0	0	0	0	N/A
Eastern Bankshares	0	1	1	0	2.50

Eastern Bankshares has a consensus target price of $18.75, suggesting a potential upside of 10.95%. Given Eastern Bankshares’ higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Eastern Bankshares is more favorable than First Niles Financial.

Risk & Volatility

First Niles Financial has a beta of 0.39, indicating that its stock price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Eastern Bankshares has a beta of 0.89, indicating that its stock price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares First Niles Financial and Eastern Bankshares”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Niles Financial	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Eastern Bankshares	$623.53 million	4.79	$232.18 million	$2.85	5.93

Eastern Bankshares has higher revenue and earnings than First Niles Financial.

Profitability

This table compares First Niles Financial and Eastern Bankshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Niles Financial	N/A	N/A	N/A
Eastern Bankshares	48.38%	5.06%	0.68%

Dividends

First Niles Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Eastern Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $0.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Eastern Bankshares pays out 15.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

71.7% of Eastern Bankshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 23.4% of First Niles Financial shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of Eastern Bankshares shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Eastern Bankshares beats First Niles Financial on 8 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About First Niles Financial

First Niles Financial, Inc. operates as a holding company for the Home Federal Savings and Loan Association of Niles that provides various banking products and services in Ohio, the United States. The company offers personal and business checking and savings, money market deposit, statement savings, and Christmas club accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. It also provides various loans, including mortgage and consumer loans, home equity lines of credit, and commercial loans and lines of credit. In addition, the company provides e-statement, bill pay, and night depository services; debit and ATM cards; safe deposit boxes; direct deposits; I.R.A. certificates of deposit and savings accounts; and online banking services. First Niles Financial, Inc. was founded in 1897 and is based in Niles, Ohio.

About Eastern Bankshares

Eastern Bankshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Eastern Bank that provides banking products and services primarily to retail, commercial, and small business customers. The company provides deposit accounts, interest checking accounts, money market accounts, savings accounts, and time certificates of deposit accounts. It also offers commercial and industrial, commercial real estate and construction, small business, residential real estate, and home equity loans; lines of credit; and other consumer loans comprising unsecured personal lines of credit, overdraft protection, automobile loans, home improvement loans, airplane loans, and other personal loans. In addition, the company provides trust, financial planning and portfolio management, automated lock box collection, cash management, and account reconciliation services; personal, business, and employee benefits insurance products. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. was founded in 1818 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.