NSTS Bancorp (NASDAQ:NSTS) and Kearny Financial (NASDAQ:KRNY) Critical Comparison

NSTS Bancorp (NASDAQ:NSTS) and Kearny Financial (NASDAQ:KRNY) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitability, valuation, risk and analyst recommendations.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

23.7% of NSTS Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 71.0% of Kearny Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 4.6% of NSTS Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 8.2% of Kearny Financial shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares NSTS Bancorp and Kearny Financial’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
NSTS Bancorp	$6.58 million	7.77	-$3.96 million	($0.88)	-10.94
Kearny Financial	$296.48 million	1.23	$40.81 million	$0.25	22.68

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for NSTS Bancorp and Kearny Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NSTS Bancorp	0	0	0	0	N/A
Kearny Financial	0	0	0	0	N/A

Profitability

This table compares NSTS Bancorp and Kearny Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NSTS Bancorp	-59.99%	-5.61%	-1.70%
Kearny Financial	4.80%	4.05%	0.44%

Volatility & Risk

NSTS Bancorp has a beta of 0.08, meaning that its share price is 92% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Kearny Financial has a beta of 0.73, meaning that its share price is 27% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Kearny Financial beats NSTS Bancorp on 10 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About NSTS Bancorp

NSTS Bancorp, Inc. operates as a savings and loan holding company for North Shore Trust and Savings that provides banking products and services in Illinois. The company offers interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing checking, money market, savings, and time deposit accounts; and one- to four-family residential mortgage, multi-family and commercial real estate mortgage, construction, home equity, and consumer loans. It operates through full-service banking offices in Lake County, Illinois; and one loan production office in Chicago. The company was founded in 1921 and is headquartered in Waukegan, Illinois.

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. The company offers various deposit products, including interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing checking accounts, money market deposit accounts, savings accounts, and certificates of deposit accounts. It 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, the company engages in investment activities. Kearny Financial Corp. was founded in 1884 and is headquartered in Fairfield, New Jersey.