Critical Analysis: Magyar Bancorp (NASDAQ:MGYR) and Catalyst Bancorp (NASDAQ:CLST)

Risk and Volatility

Magyar Bancorp has a beta of 0.31, suggesting that its share price is 69% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Catalyst Bancorp has a beta of 0.14, suggesting that its share price is 86% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Magyar Bancorp and Catalyst Bancorp”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Magyar Bancorp	$31.53 million	2.98	$7.78 million	$1.24	11.71
Catalyst Bancorp	$5.42 million	9.44	$600,000.00	($0.82)	-14.35

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

Profitability

This table compares Magyar Bancorp and Catalyst Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Magyar Bancorp	14.91%	7.22%	0.84%
Catalyst Bancorp	N/A	-4.12%	-1.20%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

46.3% of Magyar Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 33.1% of Catalyst Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 10.5% of Magyar Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.9% of Catalyst Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Magyar Bancorp beats Catalyst Bancorp on 10 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Magyar Bancorp

Magyar Bancorp, Inc. operates as the holding company for Magyar Bank that provides various consumer and commercial banking services to individuals, businesses, and nonprofit organizations in New Jersey, the United States. It accepts various deposit accounts, including demand, savings, NOW, money market, and retirement accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company also provides residential mortgage loans, multi-family and commercial real estate mortgage loans, home equity loans and lines of credit, commercial business loans, and construction loans, as well as small business administration loans. In addition, it offers non-deposit investment products and financial planning services, including insurance products, fixed and variable annuities, and retirement planning for individual and commercial customers; and buys, sells, and holds investment securities. The company has branch offices located in New Brunswick, North Brunswick, South Brunswick, Branchburg, Bridgewater, and Edison, New Jersey. Magyar Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1922 and is headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

About Catalyst Bancorp

Catalyst Bancorp, Inc. operates as a holding company for Catalyst Bank that provides various banking services to individuals and businesses in Louisiana. The company accepts various deposit products, including savings accounts, demand and NOW accounts, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit. It also offers single family residential first mortgage loans, commercial real estate mortgage loans, multi-family residential mortgage loans, commercial and industrial loans, construction and land loans, consumer loans, and other loans. In addition, the company invests in various types of securities comprising mortgage-backed securities, the U.S. treasury obligations, securities of various federal agencies and of state and municipal governments, certificates of deposit at federally insured banks and savings institutions, and federal funds. Catalyst Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1922 and is headquartered in Opelousas, Louisiana.