Northfield Bancorp, Inc. (Staten Island, NY) (NASDAQ:NFBK) versus Catalyst Bancorp (NASDAQ:CLST) Critical Analysis

Catalyst Bancorp (NASDAQ:CLST) and Northfield Bancorp, Inc. (Staten Island, NY) (NASDAQ:NFBK) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, risk and profitability.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

33.1% of Catalyst Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 65.5% of Northfield Bancorp, Inc. (Staten Island, NY) shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.9% of Catalyst Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.5% of Northfield Bancorp, Inc. (Staten Island, NY) shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Catalyst Bancorp and Northfield Bancorp, Inc. (Staten Island, NY)’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Catalyst Bancorp	N/A	-4.12%	-1.20%
Northfield Bancorp, Inc. (Staten Island, NY)	10.94%	4.05%	0.49%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Catalyst Bancorp and Northfield Bancorp, Inc. (Staten Island, NY)”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Catalyst Bancorp	$11.25 million	4.53	$600,000.00	($0.82)	-14.33
Northfield Bancorp, Inc. (Staten Island, NY)	$220.69 million	2.24	$37.67 million	$0.64	18.00

Northfield Bancorp, Inc. (Staten Island, NY) has higher revenue and earnings than Catalyst Bancorp. Catalyst Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Northfield Bancorp, Inc. (Staten Island, NY), indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Catalyst Bancorp and Northfield Bancorp, Inc. (Staten Island, NY), as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Catalyst Bancorp	0	0	0	0	0.00
Northfield Bancorp, Inc. (Staten Island, NY)	0	2	0	0	2.00

Northfield Bancorp, Inc. (Staten Island, NY) has a consensus target price of $12.63, indicating a potential upside of 9.59%. Given Northfield Bancorp, Inc. (Staten Island, NY)’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Northfield Bancorp, Inc. (Staten Island, NY) is more favorable than Catalyst Bancorp.

Risk and Volatility

Catalyst Bancorp has a beta of 0.14, meaning that its stock price is 86% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Northfield Bancorp, Inc. (Staten Island, NY) has a beta of 0.8, meaning that its stock price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Northfield Bancorp, Inc. (Staten Island, NY) beats Catalyst Bancorp on 12 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Catalyst Bancorp

Catalyst Bancorp, Inc. operates as a holding company for Catalyst Bank that provides various banking services to individuals and businesses in Louisiana. The company accepts various deposit products, including savings accounts, demand and NOW accounts, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit. It also offers single family residential first mortgage loans, commercial real estate mortgage loans, multi-family residential mortgage loans, commercial and industrial loans, construction and land loans, consumer loans, and other loans. In addition, the company invests in various types of securities comprising mortgage-backed securities, the U.S. treasury obligations, securities of various federal agencies and of state and municipal governments, certificates of deposit at federally insured banks and savings institutions, and federal funds. Catalyst Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1922 and is headquartered in Opelousas, Louisiana.

About Northfield Bancorp, Inc. (Staten Island, NY)

Northfield Bancorp, Inc. (Staten Island, NY) operates as the bank holding company for Northfield Bank that provides various banking products and services primarily to individuals and corporate customers. It accepts various deposits products, including certificates of deposit, passbook, statement, and money market savings accounts; transaction deposit accounts comprising negotiable orders of withdrawal accounts, and interest and non-interest-bearing checking accounts; and brokered deposits. The company also offers various loans comprising multifamily and other commercial real estate loans, construction and land loans, commercial and industrial loans, one-to-four family residential real estate loans, and home equity loans and lines of credit. In addition, it purchases various investment securities, such as mortgage-backed securities and corporate bonds; and deposits funds in other financial institutions, as well as holds mortgage loans, mortgage-backed securities, and other investments. Further, the company provides automated teller machines; telephone, internet, and mobile banking services; and ACH and wire transfers, cash management, positive pay, and remote deposit capture services. It operates full-service banking offices in Staten Island and Brooklyn, New York; and Hunterdon, Middlesex, Mercer, and Union counties, New Jersey. Northfield Bancorp, Inc. (Staten Island, NY) was founded in 1887 and is headquartered in Woodbridge, New Jersey.