First Western Financial (NASDAQ:MYFW) vs. FirstSun Capital Bancorp (NASDAQ:FSUN) Financial Contrast

FirstSun Capital Bancorp (NASDAQ:FSUN) and First Western Financial (NASDAQ:MYFW) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, risk, dividends and earnings.

Volatility & Risk

FirstSun Capital Bancorp has a beta of 0.82, indicating that its share price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Western Financial has a beta of 0.77, indicating that its share price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

60.3% of First Western Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 12.5% of FirstSun Capital Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 17.9% of First Western Financial shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares FirstSun Capital Bancorp and First Western Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
FirstSun Capital Bancorp	15.94%	9.00%	1.17%
First Western Financial	6.91%	4.91%	0.42%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares FirstSun Capital Bancorp and First Western Financial”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
FirstSun Capital Bancorp	$549.33 million	1.93	$75.63 million	$3.16	12.01
First Western Financial	$180.33 million	1.40	$8.47 million	$1.29	20.20

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for FirstSun Capital Bancorp and First Western Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
FirstSun Capital Bancorp	0	1	3	0	2.75
First Western Financial	0	3	2	0	2.40

FirstSun Capital Bancorp currently has a consensus target price of $43.33, suggesting a potential upside of 14.22%. First Western Financial has a consensus target price of $24.33, suggesting a potential downside of 6.63%. Given FirstSun Capital Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe FirstSun Capital Bancorp is more favorable than First Western Financial.

Summary

FirstSun Capital Bancorp beats First Western Financial on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About FirstSun Capital Bancorp

FirstSun Capital Bancorp engages in the provision of commercial banking services. It operates through the following segments: Banking, Mortgage Operations, and Corporate. The Banking segment consists of loans and provides deposits and fee-based services to consumer, business, and mortgage lending customers. The Mortgage Operations segment originates, sells, services, and manages market risk from changes in interest rates on one-to-four family residential mortgage loans to sell and hold. The company is founded on November 9, 1981 headquartered in Denver, CO.

About First Western Financial

First Western Financial, Inc., a financial holding company, provides wealth advisory, private baking, personal trust, investment management, mortgage lending, and institutional asset management services. The company operates through two segments: Wealth Management and Mortgage. The Wealth Management segment provides deposit, loan, life insurance, and trust and investment management advisory products and services. The Mortgage segment engages in soliciting, originating, and selling mortgage loans into the secondary market. It serves entrepreneurs, professionals, high net worth individuals or families, and business and philanthropic organizations. First Western Financial, Inc. was incorporated in 2002 and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.