Comparing FS Bancorp (NASDAQ:FSBW) and SR Bancorp (NASDAQ:SRBK)

FS Bancorp (NASDAQ:FSBW) and SR Bancorp (NASDAQ:SRBK) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, dividends, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership and risk.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for FS Bancorp and SR Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
FS Bancorp	0	1	0	0	2.00
SR Bancorp	0	0	0	0	N/A

FS Bancorp presently has a consensus price target of $44.00, indicating a potential downside of 1.39%. Given FS Bancorp’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe FS Bancorp is more favorable than SR Bancorp.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

63.9% of FS Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 24.7% of SR Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 13.3% of FS Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares FS Bancorp and SR Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
FS Bancorp	18.05%	13.65%	1.22%
SR Bancorp	N/A	-4.55%	-0.84%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares FS Bancorp and SR Bancorp’s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
FS Bancorp	$187.68 million	1.85	$36.05 million	$4.58	9.74
SR Bancorp	$14.78 million	6.32	N/A	N/A	N/A

FS Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than SR Bancorp.

Summary

FS Bancorp beats SR Bancorp on 7 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About FS Bancorp

FS Bancorp, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for 1st Security Bank of Washington that provides banking and financial services to local families, local and regional businesses, and industry niches. The company operates in two segments, Commercial and Consumer Banking; and Home Lending. It offers various deposit instruments, including checking accounts, money market deposit accounts, savings accounts, and certificates of deposit. The company provides one-to-four-family residential first mortgages, second mortgage/home equity loan products, non-mortgage commercial business loans, commercial real estate loans, and construction and development loans, as well as consumer loans, which primarily include personal lines of credit, credit cards, automobile, direct home improvement, loans on deposit, and recreational loans. It operates full bank service branches and home loan production offices in suburban communities in the greater Puget Sound area, including Snohomish, King, Pierce, Jefferson, Kitsap, Clallam, Grays Harbor, and Thurston counties; and a loan production office in the market area of the Tri-Cities. FS Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1936 and is headquartered in Mountlake Terrace, Washington.

About SR Bancorp

SR Bancorp, Inc. operates as the holding company for Somerset Regal Bank that provides customary retail and commercial banking services to individuals, businesses, and local municipalities in the communities of Somerset, Middlesex, Hunterdon, and Essex counties in New Jersey. It offers deposit instruments, including noninterest-bearing demand deposits, interest-bearing demand accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit. The company also provides loans comprising one- to four family-residential mortgage loans, home equity loans and lines of credit, unsecured personal loans, and rehabilitation loans; and bill payment services. In addition, it is involved in the investment activities. The company was founded in 1887 and is headquartered in Bound Brook, New Jersey.