Critical Analysis: NB Bancorp (NASDAQ:NBBK) vs. Pioneer Bancorp (NASDAQ:PBFS)

Pioneer Bancorp (NASDAQ:PBFS) and NB Bancorp (NASDAQ:NBBK) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, dividends, valuation, earnings, risk and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Pioneer Bancorp and NB Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Pioneer Bancorp	0	0	0	0	N/A
NB Bancorp	0	0	1	0	3.00

NB Bancorp has a consensus price target of $20.00, suggesting a potential upside of 7.82%. Given NB Bancorp’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe NB Bancorp is more favorable than Pioneer Bancorp.

Profitability

This table compares Pioneer Bancorp and NB Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Pioneer Bancorp	15.90%	5.70%	0.83%
NB Bancorp	4.73%	2.04%	0.29%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Pioneer Bancorp and NB Bancorp”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Pioneer Bancorp	$75.37 million	3.84	$21.95 million	$0.64	17.42
NB Bancorp	$157.55 million	5.03	$9.82 million	N/A	N/A

Pioneer Bancorp has higher earnings, but lower revenue than NB Bancorp.

About Pioneer Bancorp

Pioneer Bancorp, Inc. operates as a holding company for Pioneer Savings Bank that provides various banking products and services in New York. The company accepts various deposit products, such as demand, savings, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit accounts. Its loan products include commercial real estate, commercial and industrial, commercial construction, residential mortgage lending, consumer loans, and home equity lines of credit. The company also invests in the U.S. governmental securities, fixed rate collateralized mortgage obligations, mortgage-backed securities, fixed-rate investment grade bonds, and equity securities. In addition, the company offers personal and commercial insurance products, including homeowners, automobile, and comprehensive business insurance; employee benefit products and services, such as group health, dental, disability, and life insurance products, as well as defined contribution, defined benefit administration, and human resource management services; and wealth management services comprising investment advice, retirement income planning, estate planning, business succession, and employer retirement planning. The company was founded in 1889 and is based in Albany, New York. Pioneer Bancorp, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Pioneer Bancorp, MHC.

About NB Bancorp

NB Bancorp, Inc. focuses on operating as a bank holding company for Needham Bank that provides various banking products and services in Greater Boston metropolitan area and surrounding communities in Massachusetts, eastern Connecticut, southern New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. The company offers various deposits, including certificate of deposit, individual retirement, money market, savings, NOW, demand deposit, and interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing checking accounts; and commercial real estate and multifamily, one- to four-family residential real estate, construction and land development, commercial and industrial, and consumer loans, as well as home equity loans and lines of credit. It also invests in securities consisting of U.S. treasury and federal agency securities, government-sponsored residential mortgage-backed securities, municipal bonds, and corporate bonds. The company was founded in 1892 and is based in Needham, Massachusetts.