Critical Survey: Hingham Institution for Savings (NASDAQ:HIFS) versus NB Bancorp (NASDAQ:NBBK)

Hingham Institution for Savings (NASDAQ:HIFS) and NB Bancorp (NASDAQ:NBBK) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, profitability and risk.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for Hingham Institution for Savings and NB Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hingham Institution for Savings	0	0	0	0	N/A
NB Bancorp	0	0	1	0	3.00

NB Bancorp has a consensus target price of $17.00, indicating a potential upside of 15.65%. Given NB Bancorp’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe NB Bancorp is more favorable than Hingham Institution for Savings.

Profitability

This table compares Hingham Institution for Savings and NB Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hingham Institution for Savings	12.38%	2.71%	0.25%
NB Bancorp	N/A	N/A	N/A

Institutional & Insider Ownership

49.3% of Hingham Institution for Savings shares are held by institutional investors. 1.7% of NB Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Hingham Institution for Savings and NB Bancorp’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hingham Institution for Savings	$190.57 million	1.86	$26.37 million	$11.28	14.63
NB Bancorp	$236.08 million	2.66	$9.82 million	N/A	N/A

Hingham Institution for Savings has higher earnings, but lower revenue than NB Bancorp.

About Hingham Institution for Savings

Hingham Institution for Savings provides various financial products and services to individuals and small businesses in the United States. It offers savings, checking, money market, demand, and negotiable order of withdrawal accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company provides commercial and residential real estate, construction, home equity, commercial, consumer, and mortgage loans. In addition, it offers ATMs, debit cards, and Internet-based banking services. The company offers its services through a network of offices in Boston; Washington, D.C.; and San Francisco Bay Area. Hingham Institution for Savings was incorporated in 1834 and is headquartered in Hingham, Massachusetts.

About NB Bancorp

NB Bancorp, Inc. focuses on operating as a bank holding company for Needham Bank that provides various banking products and services in Greater Boston metropolitan area and surrounding communities in Massachusetts, eastern Connecticut, southern New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. The company offers various deposits, including certificate of deposit, individual retirement, money market, savings, NOW, demand deposit, and interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing checking accounts; and commercial real estate and multifamily, one- to four-family residential real estate, construction and land development, commercial and industrial, and consumer loans, as well as home equity loans and lines of credit. It also invests in securities consisting of U.S. treasury and federal agency securities, government-sponsored residential mortgage-backed securities, municipal bonds, and corporate bonds. The company was founded in 1892 and is based in Needham, Massachusetts.