Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) vs. NB Bancorp (NASDAQ:NBBK) Head-To-Head Comparison

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) and NB Bancorp (NASDAQ:NBBK) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership and profitability.

Risk and Volatility

Popular has a beta of 0.6, suggesting that its stock price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, NB Bancorp has a beta of -0.01, suggesting that its stock price is 101% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Popular and NB Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Popular	21.37%	15.34%	1.26%
NB Bancorp	14.27%	9.13%	1.10%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

87.3% of Popular shares are held by institutional investors. 2.1% of Popular shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.1% of NB 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.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Popular and NB Bancorp”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Popular	$4.44 billion	2.20	$833.16 million	$14.80	10.34
NB Bancorp	$351.74 million	2.71	$50.30 million	$1.51	14.43

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Popular and NB Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Popular	0	0	11	2	3.15
NB Bancorp	0	2	2	0	2.50

Popular presently has a consensus target price of $187.00, indicating a potential upside of 22.23%. NB Bancorp has a consensus target price of $25.50, indicating a potential upside of 17.05%. Given Popular’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Popular is more favorable than NB Bancorp.

Dividends

Popular pays an annual dividend of $3.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. NB Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. Popular pays out 24.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. NB Bancorp pays out 18.5% 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. Popular has increased its dividend for 6 consecutive years. Popular is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Popular beats NB Bancorp on 14 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Popular

Popular, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides various retail, mortgage, and commercial banking products and services in Puerto Rico, the United States, and the British Virgin Islands. The company provides savings, NOW, money market, and other interest-bearing demand accounts; non-interest bearing demand deposits; and certificates of deposit. It also offers commercial and industrial, commercial multi-family, commercial real estate, and residential mortgage loans; consumer loans, including personal loans, credit cards, automobile loans, home equity lines of credit, and other loans to individual borrowers; construction loans; and lease financing comprising automobile loans/leases. In addition, the company provides investment banking, auto and equipment leasing and financing, broker-dealer, and insurance services; debit cards; and online banking services. Popular, Inc. was founded in 1893 and is headquartered in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico.

About NB Bancorp

NB Bancorp, Inc. focuses on operating as a bank holding company for Needham Bank that provides various banking products and services in Greater Boston metropolitan area and surrounding communities in Massachusetts, eastern Connecticut, southern New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. The company offers various deposits, including certificate of deposit, individual retirement, money market, savings, NOW, demand deposit, and interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing checking accounts; and commercial real estate and multifamily, one- to four-family residential real estate, construction and land development, commercial and industrial, and consumer loans, as well as home equity loans and lines of credit. It also invests in securities consisting of U.S. treasury and federal agency securities, government-sponsored residential mortgage-backed securities, municipal bonds, and corporate bonds. The company was founded in 1892 and is based in Needham, Massachusetts.