Kearny Financial (NASDAQ:KRNY – Get Free Report) and Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP – Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, profitability and institutional ownership.
Volatility & Risk
Kearny Financial has a beta of 0.65, suggesting that its stock price is 35% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Popular has a beta of 0.63, suggesting that its stock price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Kearny Financial and Popular, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Kearny Financial | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2.75 |
| Popular | 0 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 3.00 |
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Kearny Financial and Popular”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Kearny Financial | $347.14 million | 1.70 | $36.26 million | $0.57 | 15.91 |
| Popular | $4.44 billion | 2.24 | $833.16 million | $14.80 | 10.56 |
Popular has higher revenue and earnings than Kearny Financial. Popular is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Kearny Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
71.0% of Kearny Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.3% of Popular shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.7% of Kearny Financial shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.1% of Popular shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Profitability
This table compares Kearny Financial and Popular’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Kearny Financial | 10.45% | 4.90% | 0.49% |
| Popular | 21.37% | 15.34% | 1.26% |
Dividends
Kearny Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.9%. Popular pays an annual dividend of $3.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. Kearny Financial pays out 77.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Popular pays out 24.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Popular has raised its dividend for 6 consecutive years.
Summary
Popular beats Kearny Financial on 14 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Kearny Financial
Kearny Financial Corp. operates as the holding company for Kearny Bank that provides various banking products and services in the United States. It offers various deposit products, including interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing checking accounts, money market deposit accounts, savings accounts, and certificates of deposit accounts. The company also provides various loans, such as multi-family and nonresidential real estate mortgage loans, commercial term loans and lines of credit, one- to four-family residential mortgage loans, and home equity loans and lines of credit; loans to individuals, builders, or developers for the construction of multi-family residential buildings or commercial real estate, or for the construction or renovation of one- to four-family residences; overdraft lines of credit; and personal loans. In addition, it engages in the investment activities. Kearny Financial Corp. was founded in 1884 and is headquartered in Fairfield, New Jersey.
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.
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