Critical Analysis: SR Bancorp (NASDAQ:SRBK) and Blue Foundry Bancorp (NASDAQ:BLFY)

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

56.5% of Blue Foundry Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 24.7% of SR Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 6.0% of Blue Foundry Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Blue Foundry Bancorp and SR Bancorp’s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Blue Foundry Bancorp	$80.91 million	3.06	-$7.40 million	($0.40)	-26.13
SR Bancorp	$26.88 million	3.42	N/A	N/A	N/A

SR Bancorp has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Blue Foundry Bancorp.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Blue Foundry Bancorp and SR Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Blue Foundry Bancorp	0	2	0	0	2.00
SR Bancorp	0	0	0	0	N/A

Blue Foundry Bancorp currently has a consensus target price of $10.63, suggesting a potential upside of 1.67%. Given Blue Foundry Bancorp’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Blue Foundry Bancorp is more favorable than SR Bancorp.

Profitability

This table compares Blue Foundry Bancorp and SR Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Blue Foundry Bancorp	-11.29%	-2.69%	-0.47%
SR Bancorp	-28.30%	-5.52%	-1.01%

Summary

Blue Foundry Bancorp beats SR Bancorp on 7 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Blue Foundry Bancorp

Blue Foundry Bancorp operates as a bank holding company for Blue Foundry Bank, a savings bank that offers various banking products and services for individuals and businesses in the United States. The company offers saving, time, and non-interest bearing deposits; demand accounts; and loans, such as one-to-four family residential property, multi-family, residential real estate, non-residential real estate, consumer, construction, and commercial and industrial loans, as well as junior liens and home equity lines of credit. The company was formerly known as Boiling Springs Bancorp and changed its name to Blue Foundry Bancorp in July 2019. Blue Foundry Bancorp was founded in 1939 and is based in Rutherford, New Jersey.

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.