Critical Analysis: Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) & Pioneer Bancorp (NASDAQ:PBFS)

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) and Pioneer Bancorp (NASDAQ:PBFS) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, risk, profitability and institutional ownership.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Eastern Bankshares and Pioneer Bancorp”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Eastern Bankshares	$1.33 billion	3.64	$88.22 million	$1.78	11.74
Pioneer Bancorp	$31.81 million	13.49	$6.45 million	$0.66	25.92

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

Profitability

This table compares Eastern Bankshares and Pioneer Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Eastern Bankshares	26.28%	8.42%	1.21%
Pioneer Bancorp	16.17%	5.02%	0.74%

Risk & Volatility

Eastern Bankshares has a beta of 0.69, indicating that its share price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Pioneer Bancorp has a beta of 0.42, indicating that its share price is 58% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Eastern Bankshares and Pioneer Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Eastern Bankshares	0	2	6	1	2.89
Pioneer Bancorp	0	0	1	0	3.00

Eastern Bankshares presently has a consensus price target of $22.92, suggesting a potential upside of 9.68%. Given Eastern Bankshares’ higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Eastern Bankshares is more favorable than Pioneer Bancorp.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

71.7% of Eastern Bankshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.3% of Eastern Bankshares shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.8% of Pioneer Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Eastern Bankshares beats Pioneer Bancorp on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Eastern Bankshares

Eastern Bankshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Eastern Bank that provides banking products and services primarily to retail, commercial, and small business customers. The company provides deposit accounts, interest checking accounts, money market accounts, savings accounts, and time certificates of deposit accounts. It also offers commercial and industrial, commercial real estate and construction, small business, residential real estate, and home equity loans; lines of credit; and other consumer loans comprising unsecured personal lines of credit, overdraft protection, automobile loans, home improvement loans, airplane loans, and other personal loans. In addition, the company provides trust, financial planning and portfolio management, automated lock box collection, cash management, and account reconciliation services; personal, business, and employee benefits insurance products. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. was founded in 1818 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.

About Pioneer Bancorp

Pioneer Bancorp, Inc. operates as a holding company for Pioneer Savings Bank that provides various banking products and services in New York. The company accepts various deposit products, such as demand, savings, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit accounts. Its loan products include commercial real estate, commercial and industrial, commercial construction, residential mortgage lending, consumer loans, and home equity lines of credit. The company also invests in the U.S. governmental securities, fixed rate collateralized mortgage obligations, mortgage-backed securities, fixed-rate investment grade bonds, and equity securities. In addition, the company offers personal and commercial insurance products, including homeowners, automobile, and comprehensive business insurance; employee benefit products and services, such as group health, dental, disability, and life insurance products, as well as defined contribution, defined benefit administration, and human resource management services; and wealth management services comprising investment advice, retirement income planning, estate planning, business succession, and employer retirement planning. The company was founded in 1889 and is based in Albany, New York. Pioneer Bancorp, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Pioneer Bancorp, MHC.