Hanover Bancorp (NASDAQ:HNVR) versus IF Bancorp (NASDAQ:IROQ) Financial Contrast

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

Dividends

Hanover Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. IF Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Hanover Bancorp pays out 26.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. IF Bancorp pays out 29.9% 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. Hanover Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

15.0% of Hanover Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 44.1% of IF Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 23.9% of Hanover Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 12.6% of IF Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Hanover Bancorp and IF Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hanover Bancorp	7.73%	7.40%	0.61%
IF Bancorp	8.90%	5.46%	0.49%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Hanover Bancorp and IF Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hanover Bancorp	0	2	1	0	2.33
IF Bancorp	0	0	0	0	0.00

Hanover Bancorp presently has a consensus target price of $23.83, suggesting a potential upside of 6.97%. Given Hanover Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Hanover Bancorp is more favorable than IF Bancorp.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Hanover Bancorp and IF Bancorp”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hanover Bancorp	$148.36 million	1.08	$12.35 million	$1.53	14.56
IF Bancorp	$48.36 million	1.77	$4.30 million	$1.34	19.06

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

Volatility and Risk

Hanover Bancorp has a beta of 0.07, suggesting that its stock price is 93% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, IF Bancorp has a beta of 0.36, suggesting that its stock price is 64% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Hanover Bancorp beats IF Bancorp on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Hanover Bancorp

Hanover Bancorp, Inc., a bank holding company for Hanover Community Bank, provides personal and business lending and deposit services to businesses, municipalities, and individuals in the New York metro area. The company offers checking, credit cards, debit cards, money market, savings, government and municipal banking, and professional services, as well as time deposits, including certificate of deposit and individual retirement accounts. It also provides business loans, commercial real estate financing, small business administration, lending directory services, and residential mortgage. In addition, the company offers cash management, online and mobile banking, merchant services, and digital solutions. Its banking offices are located in Nassau, Suffolk, Queens, Kings, New York Counties, New York, Monmouth County, Freehold, and New Jersey. The company was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Mineola, New York.

About IF Bancorp

IF Bancorp, Inc. operates as the savings and loan holding company for Iroquois Federal Savings and Loan Association that provides a range of banking and financial services to individual and corporate clients. The company offers various deposit accounts, including savings accounts, certificates of deposit, money market accounts, commercial and personal checking accounts, individual retirement accounts, and health savings accounts. It provides loans comprising one- to four-family residential mortgage loans; multi-family mortgage loans; commercial real estate loans, such as farm loans; home equity lines of credit; commercial business loans; and consumer loans primarily comprising automobile loans, as well as construction loans and land development loans. In addition, the company sells property and casualty insurance, as well as offers annuities; mutual funds; individual and group retirement plans; life, disability, and health insurance; individual securities; managed accounts; and other financial services. IF Bancorp, Inc. invests in securities; and provides ATM, online banking and bill pay, mobile banking, ACH origination, remote deposit capture, and telephone banking services. The company was founded in 1883 and is headquartered in Watseka, Illinois.