Financial Analysis: Pioneer Bancorp (NASDAQ:PBFS) versus S&T Bancorp (NASDAQ:STBA)

S&T Bancorp (NASDAQ:STBA) and Pioneer Bancorp (NASDAQ:PBFS) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, earnings, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares S&T Bancorp and Pioneer Bancorp”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
S&T Bancorp	$568.51 million	3.28	$134.23 million	$3.76	13.77
Pioneer Bancorp	$31.81 million	13.99	$6.45 million	$0.66	26.88

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

Profitability

This table compares S&T Bancorp and Pioneer Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
S&T Bancorp	24.51%	9.74%	1.42%
Pioneer Bancorp	N/A	5.02%	0.74%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

65.2% of S&T Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 1.2% of S&T Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.8% of Pioneer Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

S&T Bancorp has a beta of 0.84, meaning that its share price is 16% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Pioneer Bancorp has a beta of 0.4, meaning that its share price is 60% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for S&T Bancorp and Pioneer Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
S&T Bancorp	0	5	2	0	2.29
Pioneer Bancorp	0	0	1	0	3.00

S&T Bancorp presently has a consensus price target of $46.60, indicating a potential downside of 10.02%. Given S&T Bancorp’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe S&T Bancorp is more favorable than Pioneer Bancorp.

Summary

S&T Bancorp beats Pioneer Bancorp on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About S&T Bancorp

S&T Bancorp, Inc. is a bank holding company, which engages in the provision of consumer, commercial, and small business banking services. It operates through the following segments: Commercial Real Estate, Commercial and Industrial, Commercial Construction, Business Banking, Consumer Real Estate, and Other Consumer. The Commercial Real Estate segment includes both owner-occupied properties and investment properties for various purposes such as hotels, retail, multifamily and health care. The Commercial and Industrial segment focuses on the companies or manufacturers for the purpose of production, operating capacity, accounts receivable, inventory or equipment financing. The Commercial Construction segment refers to the finance construction of buildings or other structures, as well as to finance the acquisition and development of raw land for various purposes. The Business Banking segment is made to small businesses that are standard, non-complex products evaluated through a streamlined credit approval process that has been designed to maximize efficiency while maintaining high credit quality standards. The Consumer Real Estate segment offers first and second liens such as 1-4 family residential mortgages, home equity loans and home equity lines of credit. The Other Consumer segment consists of individuals that may be secured by assets other than 1-4 family residences, as well as unsecured loans. The company was founded on March 17, 1983 and is headquartered in Indiana, PA.

About Pioneer Bancorp

Pioneer Bancorp, Inc. operates as a holding company for Pioneer Savings Bank that provides various banking products and services in New York. The company accepts various deposit products, such as demand, savings, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit accounts. Its loan products include commercial real estate, commercial and industrial, commercial construction, residential mortgage lending, consumer loans, and home equity lines of credit. The company also invests in the U.S. governmental securities, fixed rate collateralized mortgage obligations, mortgage-backed securities, fixed-rate investment grade bonds, and equity securities. In addition, the company offers personal and commercial insurance products, including homeowners, automobile, and comprehensive business insurance; employee benefit products and services, such as group health, dental, disability, and life insurance products, as well as defined contribution, defined benefit administration, and human resource management services; and wealth management services comprising investment advice, retirement income planning, estate planning, business succession, and employer retirement planning. The company was founded in 1889 and is based in Albany, New York. Pioneer Bancorp, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Pioneer Bancorp, MHC.