Pioneer Bancorp (PBFS) Competitors

Pioneer Bancorp (NASDAQ:PBFS) and LendingClub (NYSE:LC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, media sentiment, earnings, dividends, valuation, community ranking and profitability.

Does the media prefer PBFS or LC?

In the previous week, LendingClub had 10 more articles in the media than Pioneer Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 11 mentions for LendingClub and 1 mentions for Pioneer Bancorp. Pioneer Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 1.89 beat LendingClub's score of 0.88 indicating that Pioneer Bancorp is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
Pioneer Bancorp	Very Positive
LendingClub	Positive

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in PBFS or LC?

74.1% of LendingClub shares are held by institutional investors. 2.5% of Pioneer Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.2% of LendingClub shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Which has higher valuation and earnings, PBFS or LC?

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

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Pioneer Bancorp	$79.44M	3.71	$15.26M	$0.77	14.82
LendingClub	$824.03M	1.45	$51.33M	$0.44	23.78

Is PBFS or LC more profitable?

Pioneer Bancorp has a net margin of 16.26% compared to LendingClub's net margin of 6.52%. Pioneer Bancorp's return on equity of 6.16% beat LendingClub's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Pioneer Bancorp	16.26%	6.16%	0.93%
LendingClub	6.52%	4.16%	0.54%

Which has more volatility & risk, PBFS or LC?

Pioneer Bancorp has a beta of 0.33, meaning that its stock price is 67% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, LendingClub has a beta of 2.41, meaning that its stock price is 141% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts rate PBFS or LC?

LendingClub has a consensus target price of $16.13, indicating a potential upside of 54.09%. Given LendingClub's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe LendingClub is more favorable than Pioneer Bancorp.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Pioneer Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00
LendingClub	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.88

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in PBFS or LC?

LendingClub received 571 more outperform votes than Pioneer Bancorp when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 61.04% of users gave LendingClub an outperform vote while only 42.86% of users gave Pioneer Bancorp an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Pioneer Bancorp	Outperform Votes 15 42.86%	Underperform Votes 20 57.14%
LendingClub	Outperform Votes 586 61.04%	Underperform Votes 374 38.96%

Summary

LendingClub beats Pioneer Bancorp on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.