Critical Survey: Brookline Bancorp (NASDAQ:BRKL) versus Catalyst Bancorp (NASDAQ:CLST)

Brookline Bancorp (NASDAQ:BRKL) and Catalyst Bancorp (NASDAQ:CLST) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends, valuation, institutional ownership and earnings.

Risk & Volatility

Brookline Bancorp has a beta of 0.78, indicating that its share price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Catalyst Bancorp has a beta of 0.12, indicating that its share price is 88% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Brookline Bancorp and Catalyst Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Brookline Bancorp	0	1	1	0	2.50
Catalyst Bancorp	0	0	0	0	N/A

Brookline Bancorp presently has a consensus target price of $11.50, indicating a potential upside of 17.35%. Given Brookline Bancorp’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Brookline Bancorp is more favorable than Catalyst Bancorp.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

78.9% of Brookline Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 33.1% of Catalyst Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 2.9% of Brookline Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.9% of Catalyst Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Brookline Bancorp and Catalyst Bancorp”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Brookline Bancorp	$355.50 million	2.45	$75.00 million	$0.93	10.54
Catalyst Bancorp	$4.47 million	11.56	$600,000.00	($1.02)	-11.17

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

Profitability

This table compares Brookline Bancorp and Catalyst Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Brookline Bancorp	12.04%	6.51%	0.68%
Catalyst Bancorp	5.35%	-4.45%	-1.32%

Summary

Brookline Bancorp beats Catalyst Bancorp on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Brookline Bancorp

Brookline Bancorp, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for the Brookline Bank that provide commercial, business, and retail banking services to corporate, municipal, and retail customers in the United States. Its deposit products include demand checking, NOW, money market, and savings accounts. The company’s loan portfolio primarily comprises first mortgage loans secured by commercial, multi-family, and residential real estate properties; loans to business entities comprising commercial lines of credit; loans to condominium associations; loans and leases used to finance equipment for small businesses; financing for construction and development projects; and home equity and other consumer loans. It provides credit, term loans, letters of credit, foreign exchange, cash management, consumer and residential loans, wealth and investment advisory, and online and mobile banking services, as well as invests in debt and equity securities. The company was founded in 1871 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.

About Catalyst Bancorp

Catalyst Bancorp, Inc. operates as a holding company for Catalyst Bank that provides various banking services to individuals and businesses in Louisiana. The company accepts various deposit products, including savings accounts, demand and NOW accounts, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit. It also offers single family residential first mortgage loans, commercial real estate mortgage loans, multi-family residential mortgage loans, commercial and industrial loans, construction and land loans, consumer loans, and other loans. In addition, the company invests in various types of securities comprising mortgage-backed securities, the U.S. treasury obligations, securities of various federal agencies and of state and municipal governments, certificates of deposit at federally insured banks and savings institutions, and federal funds. Catalyst Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1922 and is headquartered in Opelousas, Louisiana.