Head to Head Review: Princeton Bancorp (NASDAQ:BPRN) vs. Carter Bankshares (NASDAQ:CARE)

Carter Bankshares (NASDAQ:CARE) and Princeton Bancorp (NASDAQ:BPRN) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability and risk.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Carter Bankshares and Princeton Bancorp”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Carter Bankshares	$254.63 million	2.11	$31.00 million	$1.38	17.57
Princeton Bancorp	$139.02 million	1.77	$18.61 million	$2.72	13.36

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

41.5% of Carter Bankshares shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 43.4% of Princeton Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 2.2% of Carter Bankshares shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 23.1% of Princeton Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Carter Bankshares and Princeton Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Carter Bankshares	0	1	2	1	3.00
Princeton Bancorp	0	2	1	1	2.75

Carter Bankshares presently has a consensus price target of $22.00, suggesting a potential downside of 9.28%. Princeton Bancorp has a consensus price target of $37.50, suggesting a potential upside of 3.19%. Given Princeton Bancorp’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Princeton Bancorp is more favorable than Carter Bankshares.

Risk & Volatility

Carter Bankshares has a beta of 0.44, suggesting that its stock price is 56% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Princeton Bancorp has a beta of 0.49, suggesting that its stock price is 51% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Carter Bankshares and Princeton Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Carter Bankshares	12.32%	7.64%	0.65%
Princeton Bancorp	13.39%	6.93%	0.82%

About Carter Bankshares

Carter Bankshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Carter Bank & Trust that provides various banking products and services in the United States. It accepts various deposit products, including checking, savings, retirement, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposits. The company also offers commercial loans comprising secured and unsecured loans; consumer loans, such as secured and unsecured loans for financing automobiles, home improvements, education, overdraft protection, and personal investments, as well as residential mortgages; real estate construction, acquisition, commercial, and industrial loans; home equity lines of credit; and credit cards, as well as originates and holds fixed and variable rate mortgage loans. In addition, it provides other banking services that include safe deposit boxes, direct deposit of payroll, and social security checks; online banking products, including online and mobile banking, online account opening, bill pay, e-statement, mobile deposit, digital wallet, and ATM services; title insurance and other financial institution-related products and services; and treasury and corporate cash management services. Carter Bankshares, Inc. was founded in 1974 and is headquartered in Martinsville, Virginia.

About Princeton Bancorp

Princeton Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for The Bank of Princeton that provides various banking products and services. It accepts various deposit products, including checking, savings, attorney trust, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company also offers traditional retail banking services, one-to-four-family residential mortgage loans, multi-family and commercial mortgage loans, construction loans, and commercial business loans, as well as consumer loans, including home equity loans and lines of credit. In addition, it provides debit and credit cards, and money orders, direct deposit, automated teller machines, cashier's checks, safe deposit boxes, online banking, wire transfers, night depository, remote deposit capture, bank-by-mail, online, and automated telephone banking services, as well as payroll-related services and merchant credit card processing services. Further, the company offers full on-line statements, on-line bill payment, account inquiries, mobile banking, transaction histories and details, and account-to-account transfer services. Princeton Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey.