Comparing SR Bancorp (NASDAQ:SRBK) & West Shore Bank (OTCMKTS:WSSH)

SR Bancorp (NASDAQ:SRBK) and West Shore Bank (OTCMKTS:WSSH) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, earnings, analyst recommendations, profitability and risk.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares SR Bancorp and West Shore Bank”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
SR Bancorp	$48.54 million	3.15	$5.14 million	$0.42	44.95
West Shore Bank	$48.89 million	1.06	$6.25 million	N/A	N/A

West Shore Bank has higher revenue and earnings than SR Bancorp.

Dividends

SR Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. West Shore Bank pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. SR Bancorp pays out 47.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

24.7% of SR Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 7.8% of SR Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SR Bancorp	6.39%	1.41%	0.24%
West Shore Bank	N/A	N/A	N/A

Risk & Volatility

SR Bancorp has a beta of 0.58, suggesting that its share price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, West Shore Bank has a beta of 0.02, suggesting that its share price is 98% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for SR Bancorp and West Shore Bank, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SR Bancorp	0	1	1	0	2.50
West Shore Bank	0	0	0	0	0.00

SR Bancorp presently has a consensus target price of $19.00, suggesting a potential upside of 0.64%. Given SR Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe SR Bancorp is more favorable than West Shore Bank.

Summary

SR Bancorp beats West Shore Bank on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About West Shore Bank

West Shore Bank Corp. operates as the bank holding company for West Shore Bank that provides various banking products and services for individuals and businesses. The company accepts checking, saving, money market, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts. Its loan products include auto, recreational, personal term, commercial real estate, small business administration, municipal, business term, and home mortgage and equity loans; business lines of credit; and letters of credit. The company also offers ATM/debit, credit, and gift and travel cards; wealth planning process, investment management, trusts and estates, retirement planning, west shore investment services; savings bonds; and direct deposit, overdraft, safe deposit boxes, wire transfer, remote deposit capture, merchant card, ACH and wire, sweep accounts, positive pay, bill pay, and online and mobile banking services. The company was founded in 1898 and is based in Ludington, Michigan.