Pathfinder Bancorp (NASDAQ:PBHC) vs. Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Head-To-Head Analysis

Pathfinder Bancorp (NASDAQ:PBHC) and Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, valuation and dividends.

Risk and Volatility

Pathfinder Bancorp has a beta of 0.17, meaning that its share price is 83% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Provident Financial Services has a beta of 0.78, meaning that its share price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Pathfinder Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Provident Financial Services pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. Pathfinder Bancorp pays out -63.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Provident Financial Services pays out 40.9% 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. Pathfinder Bancorp has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Profitability

This table compares Pathfinder Bancorp and Provident Financial Services’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Pathfinder Bancorp	-4.96%	-3.20%	-0.27%
Provident Financial Services	21.95%	10.98%	1.23%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Pathfinder Bancorp and Provident Financial Services”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Pathfinder Bancorp	$79.15 million	0.96	-$1.93 million	($0.63)	-24.70
Provident Financial Services	$1.38 billion	2.21	$291.16 million	$2.35	9.99

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

26.7% of Pathfinder Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 72.0% of Provident Financial Services shares are owned by institutional investors. 15.4% of Pathfinder Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.0% of Provident Financial Services 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.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Pathfinder Bancorp and Provident Financial Services, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Pathfinder Bancorp	1	0	0	0	1.00
Provident Financial Services	0	3	3	2	2.88

Provident Financial Services has a consensus price target of $23.93, suggesting a potential upside of 1.89%. Given Provident Financial Services’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Provident Financial Services is more favorable than Pathfinder Bancorp.

Summary

Provident Financial Services beats Pathfinder Bancorp on 15 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Pathfinder Bancorp

Pathfinder Bancorp, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for Pathfinder Bank that provides various banking and financial products and services in New York. The company's deposit products include checking, savings, and money market deposit accounts; certificates of deposit; and demand and time deposits. Its loan portfolio comprises commercial real estate, commercial, residential real estate, construction, and tax-exempt loans; home equity loans and junior liens; and consumer loans comprising automobile, recreational vehicles, and unsecured personal loans, as well as unsecured lines of credit and loans secured by deposit accounts. The company is also involved in the property, casualty, and life insurance brokerage business. It primarily serves individuals, families, small to mid-size businesses, and municipalities. The company was founded in 1859 and is headquartered in Oswego, New York.

About Provident Financial Services

Provident Financial Services, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Provident Bank that provides various banking products and services to individuals, families, and businesses in the United States. Its deposit products include savings, checking, interest-bearing checking, money market deposit, and certificate of deposit accounts, as well as IRA products. The company's loan portfolio comprises commercial real estate loans that are secured by properties, such as multi-family apartment buildings, office buildings, retail and industrial properties, and office buildings; commercial business loans; fixed-rate and adjustable-rate mortgage loans collateralized by one- to four-family residential real estate properties; commercial construction loans; and consumer loans consisting of home equity loans, home equity lines of credit, personal loans and unsecured lines of credit, and auto and recreational vehicle loans. It also offers cash management, remote deposit capture, payroll origination, escrow account management, and online and mobile banking services; and business credit cards. In addition, the company provides wealth management services comprising investment management, trust and estate administration, financial planning, and tax compliance and planning. Further, it sells insurance and investment products, including annuities; operates as a real estate investment trust for acquiring mortgage loans and other real estate related assets; and manages and sells real estate properties acquired through foreclosure. The company was founded in 1839 and is headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey.