Columbia Financial (NASDAQ:CLBK) and CF Bankshares (NASDAQ:CFBK) Head to Head Comparison

Columbia Financial (NASDAQ:CLBK) and CF Bankshares (NASDAQ:CFBK) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Columbia Financial and CF Bankshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Columbia Financial	11.19%	5.29%	0.56%
CF Bankshares	15.10%	10.10%	0.88%

Dividends

Columbia Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. CF Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $0.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Columbia Financial pays out 58.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. CF Bankshares pays out 12.4% 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. CF Bankshares has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Columbia Financial and CF Bankshares”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Columbia Financial	$267.05 million	11.81	$51.77 million	$0.34	34.41
CF Bankshares	$61.81 million	3.71	$17.54 million	$2.91	12.27

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

Risk & Volatility

Columbia Financial has a beta of 0.24, meaning that its share price is 76% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CF Bankshares has a beta of 0.38, meaning that its share price is 62% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

12.7% of Columbia Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 41.1% of CF Bankshares shares are held by institutional investors. 3.5% of Columbia Financial shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 17.7% of CF Bankshares shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Columbia Financial and CF Bankshares, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Columbia Financial	0	1	3	0	2.75
CF Bankshares	0	1	2	0	2.67

Columbia Financial currently has a consensus target price of $15.10, suggesting a potential upside of 29.06%. CF Bankshares has a consensus target price of $40.00, suggesting a potential upside of 12.04%. Given Columbia Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Columbia Financial is more favorable than CF Bankshares.

Summary

CF Bankshares beats Columbia Financial on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Columbia Financial

Columbia Financial, Inc., a bank holding company, provides various financial services to businesses and consumers in the United States. Its deposit products include checking, interest-earning checking products and municipal, savings and club deposits, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company also provides various loans, including multifamily and commercial real estate loans, commercial business loans, one-to-four family residential loans, construction loans, home equity loans and advances, and other consumer loans, such as automobiles and personal loans, as well as unsecured and overdraft lines of credit. In addition, it offers title insurance products; wealth management services; and cash management services comprising remote deposit, lockbox service, sweep accounts, and escrow services. The company operates full-service banking offices in New Jersey; and branch offices in Freehold, New Jersey. Columbia Financial, Inc. was founded in 1926 and is based in Fair Lawn, New Jersey. Columbia Financial, Inc. is a subsidiary of Columbia Bank MHC.

About CF Bankshares

CF Bankshares Inc. operates as the bank holding company for CFBank, National Association that provides various banking products and services in the United States. The company accepts savings, retail and business checking accounts, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. It offers single-family mortgage loans; commercial real estate and multi-family residential mortgage loans; commercial loans and equipment leases; residential real estate loans and treasury management depository services; retail banking services and products. In addition, the company offers consumer loans, such as home equity lines of credit, home improvement loans, and loans secured by deposits and purchased loans, as well as other loans. Further, it provides online internet banking, mobile banking, and remote deposits. The company was formerly known as Central Federal Corporation and changed its name to CF Bankshares Inc. in July 2020. CF Bankshares Inc. was founded in 1892 and is based in Columbus, Ohio.