Comparing Broadway Financial (NASDAQ:BYFC) and Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV)

Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) and Broadway Financial (NASDAQ:BYFC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

71.3% of Provident Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 12.1% of Broadway Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 10.9% of Provident Financial shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.0% of Broadway Financial shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Provident Financial and Broadway Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Provident Financial	0	2	0	1	2.67
Broadway Financial	1	0	0	0	1.00

Provident Financial currently has a consensus target price of $18.00, suggesting a potential downside of 1.10%. Given Provident Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Provident Financial is more favorable than Broadway Financial.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Provident Financial and Broadway Financial”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Provident Financial	$59.62 million	1.89	$6.66 million	$1.03	17.67
Broadway Financial	$63.03 million	1.69	-$24.80 million	($2.71)	-4.24

Provident Financial has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Broadway Financial. Broadway Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Provident Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Provident Financial and Broadway Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Provident Financial	10.88%	5.16%	0.54%
Broadway Financial	-29.36%	3.49%	0.28%

Risk and Volatility

Provident Financial has a beta of 0.32, suggesting that its stock price is 68% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Broadway Financial has a beta of 0.75, suggesting that its stock price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Provident Financial beats Broadway Financial on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Provident Financial

Provident Financial Holdings, Inc. operates as the holding company for Provident Savings Bank, F.S.B. that provides community banking services to consumers and small to mid-sized businesses in the Inland Empire region of Southern California. The company's deposit products include checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as time deposits; and loan portfolio consists of single-family, multi-family, commercial real estate, construction, mortgage, commercial business, and consumer loans. It also offers investment services comprising the sale of investment products, such as annuities and mutual funds; and trustee services for real estate transactions. The company operates through full-service banking offices in Riverside County and San Bernardino County. Provident Financial Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1956 and is headquartered in Riverside, California.

About Broadway Financial

Broadway Financial Corporation operates as the holding company for City First Bank, National Association that provides various banking products and services in the United States. It accepts various deposit accounts, including savings accounts, checking accounts, interest checking accounts, money market accounts, and fixed-term certificates of deposit. The company also offers mortgage loans, which are secured by multi-family residential properties; single family residential properties; and commercial real estate, including charter schools, community facilities, and churches, as well as commercial business, construction, and consumer loans. In addition, it invests in securities issued by federal government agencies, residential mortgage-backed securities, and other investments. The company was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.