Flagstar Bank, National Association (NYSE:FLG) versus ACNB (NASDAQ:ACNB) Critical Survey

Flagstar Bank, National Association (NYSE:FLG) and ACNB (NASDAQ:ACNB) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership and risk.

Volatility and Risk

Flagstar Bank, National Association has a beta of 1.1, meaning that its stock price is 10% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ACNB has a beta of 0.87, meaning that its stock price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

67.9% of Flagstar Bank, National Association shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 32.3% of ACNB shares are owned by institutional investors. 21.4% of Flagstar Bank, National Association shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.7% of ACNB shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Flagstar Bank, National Association pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. ACNB pays an annual dividend of $1.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Flagstar Bank, National Association pays out 26.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. ACNB pays out 34.1% 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. ACNB has raised its dividend for 8 consecutive years. ACNB is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

This table compares Flagstar Bank, National Association and ACNB’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Flagstar Bank, National Association	2.22%	1.45%	0.12%
ACNB	27.16%	13.87%	1.79%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Flagstar Bank, National Association and ACNB, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Flagstar Bank, National Association	1	3	10	0	2.64
ACNB	0	2	2	0	2.50

Flagstar Bank, National Association currently has a consensus target price of $14.54, suggesting a potential upside of 38.49%. ACNB has a consensus target price of $64.50, suggesting a potential downside of 1.38%. Given Flagstar Bank, National Association’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Flagstar Bank, National Association is more favorable than ACNB.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Flagstar Bank, National Association and ACNB”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Flagstar Bank, National Association	$4.81 billion	0.91	-$177.00 million	$0.15	70.00
ACNB	$161.34 million	4.12	$37.05 million	$5.40	12.11

ACNB has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Flagstar Bank, National Association. ACNB is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Flagstar Bank, National Association, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Flagstar Bank, National Association beats ACNB on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Flagstar Bank, National Association

Flagstar Financial, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Flagstar Bank, N.A. that provides banking products and services in the United States. The company’s deposit products include interest-bearing checking and money market, savings, non-interest-bearing, and retirement accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. Its loan products comprise multi-family loans; commercial real estate loans; acquisition, development, and construction loans; commercial and industrial loans; one-to-four family loans; specialty finance loans and leases; warehouse loans; and other loans, such as home equity lines of credit, boat and recreational vehicle indirect lending, point of sale consumer loans, and other consumer loans, including overdraft loans. The company offers cash management products; non-deposit investment and insurance products; and online banking, mobile banking, and bank-by-phone services. It primarily serves individuals, small and mid-size businesses, and professional associations. The company was formerly known as New York Community Bancorp, Inc. and changed its name to Flagstar Financial, Inc. in October 2024. Flagstar Financial, Inc. was founded in 1859 and is headquartered in Hicksville, New York.

About ACNB

ACNB Corporation, a financial holding company, offers banking, insurance, and financial services to individual, business, and government customers in the United States. The company provides checking, savings, and money market deposit accounts, as well as time deposits and debit cards. It also offers commercial lending products, such as commercial mortgages, real estate development and construction loans, accounts receivable and inventory financing, and agricultural and governmental loans; consumer lending products, including home equity loans and lines of credit, automobile and recreational vehicle loans, manufactured housing loans, and personal lines of credit; and mortgage lending programs include personal residential mortgages, and residential construction and investment mortgage loans. In addition, the company provides other services that are related to testamentary trusts, life insurance trusts, charitable remainder trusts, guardianships, powers of attorney, custodial accounts, and investment management and advisory accounts; and retail brokerage services. Further, it acts as a trustee to invest in, protect, manage, and distribute financial assets. Additionally, the company offers property and casualty, health, life, and disability insurance products to commercial and personal clients; and online, telephone, and mobile banking, as well as automated teller machine services. ACNB Corporation was founded in 1857 and is headquartered in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.