Pathfinder Bancorp (PBHC) Competitors

Pathfinder Bancorp (NASDAQ:PBHC) and First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their community ranking, media sentiment, earnings, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation and institutional ownership.

Is PBHC or FRBA a better dividend stock?

Pathfinder Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. First Bank pays an annual dividend of $0.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. Pathfinder Bancorp pays out 66.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Bank pays out 15.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Does the MarketBeat Community favor PBHC or FRBA?

First Bank received 133 more outperform votes than Pathfinder Bancorp when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 63.38% of users gave First Bank an outperform vote while only 63.10% of users gave Pathfinder Bancorp an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Pathfinder Bancorp	Outperform Votes 118 63.10%	Underperform Votes 69 36.90%
First Bank	Outperform Votes 251 63.38%	Underperform Votes 145 36.62%

Does the media prefer PBHC or FRBA?

In the previous week, First Bank had 10 more articles in the media than Pathfinder Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 15 mentions for First Bank and 5 mentions for Pathfinder Bancorp. First Bank's average media sentiment score of 1.19 beat Pathfinder Bancorp's score of 0.59 indicating that First Bank is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Pathfinder Bancorp	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
First Bank	4 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is PBHC or FRBA more profitable?

First Bank has a net margin of 18.41% compared to Pathfinder Bancorp's net margin of 4.28%. First Bank's return on equity of 11.06% beat Pathfinder Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Pathfinder Bancorp	4.28%	3.07%	0.26%
First Bank	18.41%	11.06%	1.19%

Which has stronger earnings and valuation, PBHC or FRBA?

First Bank has higher revenue and earnings than Pathfinder Bancorp. First Bank is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Pathfinder Bancorp, 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
Pathfinder Bancorp	$46.11M	1.48	$3.76M	$0.60	23.97
First Bank	$129.85M	2.16	$42.24M	$1.54	9.33

Do institutionals and insiders have more ownership in PBHC or FRBA?

26.7% of Pathfinder Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 64.9% of First Bank shares are held by institutional investors. 22.4% of Pathfinder Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 13.1% of First Bank shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Do analysts recommend PBHC or FRBA?

First Bank has a consensus price target of $17.25, indicating a potential upside of 20.08%. Given First Bank's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe First Bank is more favorable than Pathfinder Bancorp.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Pathfinder Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00
First Bank	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Which has more volatility and risk, PBHC or FRBA?

Pathfinder Bancorp has a beta of 0.03, suggesting that its share price is 97% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Bank has a beta of 0.76, suggesting that its share price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

First Bank beats Pathfinder Bancorp on 17 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.