Analyzing TrustCo Bank Corp NY (NASDAQ:TRST) and Amalgamated Financial (NASDAQ:AMAL)

Amalgamated Financial (NASDAQ:AMAL) and TrustCo Bank Corp NY (NASDAQ:TRST) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends and valuation.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Amalgamated Financial and TrustCo Bank Corp NY”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Amalgamated Financial	$311.12 million	3.32	$87.98 million	$3.40	9.92
TrustCo Bank Corp NY	$171.54 million	3.70	$58.65 million	$2.50	13.37

Amalgamated Financial has higher revenue and earnings than TrustCo Bank Corp NY. Amalgamated Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than TrustCo Bank Corp NY, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk and Volatility

Amalgamated Financial has a beta of 0.91, meaning that its stock price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, TrustCo Bank Corp NY has a beta of 0.83, meaning that its stock price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

75.9% of Amalgamated Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 68.6% of TrustCo Bank Corp NY shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.9% of Amalgamated Financial shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.3% of TrustCo Bank Corp NY shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Amalgamated Financial and TrustCo Bank Corp NY’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Amalgamated Financial	24.19%	16.00%	1.24%
TrustCo Bank Corp NY	18.24%	7.24%	0.77%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Amalgamated Financial and TrustCo Bank Corp NY, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Amalgamated Financial	0	0	3	0	3.00
TrustCo Bank Corp NY	0	0	0	0	0.00

Amalgamated Financial presently has a consensus target price of $39.83, suggesting a potential upside of 18.13%. Given Amalgamated Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Amalgamated Financial is more favorable than TrustCo Bank Corp NY.

Dividends

Amalgamated Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. TrustCo Bank Corp NY pays an annual dividend of $1.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. Amalgamated Financial pays out 14.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. TrustCo Bank Corp NY pays out 57.6% 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.

Summary

Amalgamated Financial beats TrustCo Bank Corp NY on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Amalgamated Financial

Amalgamated Financial Corp. operates as the bank holding company for Amalgamated Bank that provides commercial and retail banking, investment management, and trust and custody services for commercial and retail customers in the United States. The company accepts various deposit products, including non-interest bearing accounts, interest-bearing demand products, savings accounts, money market accounts, NOW accounts, and certificates of deposit. It also provides various commercial loans comprising commercial and industrial, multifamily mortgage, and commercial real estate loans; residential mortgage loans; and retail loans, such as residential real estate, consumer solar, and consumer and other loans. In addition, the company offers online banking, bill payment, online cash management, and safe deposit box rental services; debit and ATM cards; and trust, custody, and investment management services comprising asset safekeeping, corporate actions, income collections, proxy, account transition, asset transfers, and conversion management services. Further, it provides investment products, such as funds spanning equity, fixed-income, real estate, and alternative investment products; and brokerage, asset management, and insurance products. Amalgamated Financial Corp. was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

About TrustCo Bank Corp NY

TrustCo Bank Corp NY operates as the holding company for Trustco Bank, a federal savings bank that provides personal and business banking services to individuals and businesses. The company accepts deposits; and offers loans and investments. It also operates as a real estate investment trust that acquires, holds, and manages real estate mortgage assets, including residential mortgage loans and mortgage-backed securities. In addition, the company serves as the executor of estates and trustee of personal trusts; provides asset and wealth management, estate planning and related advice, and custodial services; and acts as trustee for various types of employee benefit plans, and corporate pension and profit-sharing trusts. It operates through banking offices in Albany, Columbia, Dutchess, Greene, Montgomery, Orange, Putnam, Rensselaer, Rockland, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Ulster, Warren, Washington, and Westchester counties of New York; Brevard, Charlotte, Flagler, Hillsborough, Indian River, Lake, Manatee, Martin, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Polk, Sarasota, Seminole, and Volusia counties in Florida; Bennington County in Vermont; Berkshire County in Massachusetts; and Bergen County in New Jersey, as well as automatic teller machines. The company was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Glenville, New York.