Head-To-Head Survey: Bank First (NASDAQ:BFC) & WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD)

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) and Bank First (NASDAQ:BFC) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, risk and analyst recommendations.

Risk & Volatility

WaFd has a beta of 0.87, indicating that its stock price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bank First has a beta of 0.35, indicating that its stock price is 65% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares WaFd and Bank First”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
WaFd	$1.43 billion	1.68	$200.04 million	$2.17	13.63
Bank First	$226.09 million	4.50	$74.51 million	$6.50	15.64

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

Dividends

WaFd pays an annual dividend of $1.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Bank First pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. WaFd pays out 47.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Bank First pays out 27.7% 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.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

83.7% of WaFd shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 30.0% of Bank First shares are held by institutional investors. 1.5% of WaFd shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.1% of Bank First shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for WaFd and Bank First, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
WaFd	0	3	1	0	2.25
Bank First	0	2	0	0	2.00

WaFd presently has a consensus price target of $36.00, indicating a potential upside of 21.70%. Bank First has a consensus price target of $104.00, indicating a potential upside of 2.27%. Given WaFd’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe WaFd is more favorable than Bank First.

Profitability

This table compares WaFd and Bank First’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
WaFd	12.66%	8.83%	0.81%
Bank First	29.00%	10.53%	1.56%

About WaFd

WaFd, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Washington Federal Bank that provides lending, depository, insurance, and other banking services in the United States. The company offers deposit products, including business and personal checking accounts, and term certificates of deposit, as well as money market accounts and passbook savings accounts. It also provides single-family dwellings, construction, land acquisition and development, consumer lot, multi-family residential, commercial real estate, home equity, business, and consumer loans, as well as commercial and industrial loans. In addition, the company offers insurance brokerage services, such as individual and business insurance policies; holds and markets real estate properties; and debit and credit cards, as well as acts as the trustee. It serves consumers, mid-sized and large businesses, and owners and developers of commercial real estate. The company was formerly known as Washington Federal, Inc. and changed its name to WaFd, Inc in September 2023. WaFd, Inc was founded in 1917 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.

About Bank First

Bank First Corporation operates as a holding company for Bank First, N.A. that provides consumer and commercial financial services to businesses, professionals, consumers, associations, individuals, and governmental authorities in Wisconsin. It offers checking, savings, money market, cash management, retirement, and health savings accounts; other time deposits; certificates of deposit; and residential mortgage products. The company's loan products include real estate loans, including commercial real estate, residential mortgage, and home equity loans; commercial and industrial loans for working capital, accounts receivable, inventory financing, and other business purposes; construction and development loans; residential 1-4 family loans; and consumer loans for personal and household purposes, including secured and unsecured installment loans, and revolving lines of credit. It also provides credit cards; ATM processing; insurance; data processing and other information technology; investment and safekeeping; treasury management; and online, telephone, and mobile banking services. The company was formerly known as Bank First National Corporation and changed its name to Bank First Corporation in June 2019. Bank First Corporation was founded in 1894 and is headquartered in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.