Analyzing Ponce Financial Group (NASDAQ:PDLB) & Ottawa Bancorp (OTCMKTS:OTTW)

Ottawa Bancorp (OTCMKTS:OTTW) and Ponce Financial Group (NASDAQ:PDLB) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, risk, valuation, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Ottawa Bancorp and Ponce Financial Group, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ottawa Bancorp	0	0	0	0	N/A
Ponce Financial Group	0	0	0	0	N/A

Insider and Institutional Ownership

64.3% of Ponce Financial Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.8% of Ottawa Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.7% of Ponce Financial Group shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Ottawa Bancorp and Ponce Financial Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ottawa Bancorp	4.46%	1.81%	0.21%
Ponce Financial Group	5.52%	3.26%	0.32%

Volatility & Risk

Ottawa Bancorp has a beta of 0.36, indicating that its share price is 64% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ponce Financial Group has a beta of 0.62, indicating that its share price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Ottawa Bancorp and Ponce Financial Group”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ottawa Bancorp	$16.45 million	2.24	$1.67 million	$0.60	24.28
Ponce Financial Group	$79.11 million	3.49	$3.35 million	$0.25	46.32

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

Summary

Ponce Financial Group beats Ottawa Bancorp on 9 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ottawa Bancorp

Ottawa Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for OSB Community Bank, a savings bank that provides various financial services to individual and corporate customers in Illinois. The company's deposit products include saving, checking, money market, and interest-bearing accounts, as well as certificate of deposit. Its loan portfolio comprises commercial, non-residential real estate, one-to-four family residential, multi-family residential, consumer direct, and purchased auto loans; business and construction loans; motor vehicle, home improvement, share, and personal unsecured loans, as well as home equity and small personal credit lines; mortgage loans; and student loans. The company also provides cash management solutions, such as remote deposit capture, automated clearing house/payroll direct deposit, and merchant services, as well as commercial leasing services. In addition, it offers notary, lamination, night depository, document faxing, money gift envelopes, safe deposit boxes, and coin counting, as well as debit and credit cards, and digital banking services. The company was formerly known as Ottawa Savings Bancorp, Inc. and changed its name to Ottawa Bancorp, Inc. in October 2016. Ottawa Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1871 and is based in Ottawa, Illinois.

About Ponce Financial Group

Ponce Financial Group, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Ponce Bank that provides various banking products and services. It offers various deposit products, including demand accounts, NOW/IOLA, money market, reciprocal deposits, savings accounts, and certificates of deposit to individuals, business entities, and non-profit organizations, as well as individual retirement accounts. The company also provides real estate-secured loans, which includes one-to-four family investor-owned and owner-occupied residential; multifamily residential; nonresidential property; construction and land; commercial and industrial; and business and consumer loans, as well as lines of credit. In addition, it invests in securities, which consist of U.S. Government and federal agency securities and securities issued by government-sponsored or owned enterprises, as well as corporate securities, mortgage-backed securities, and Federal Home Loan Bank stock. Ponce Financial Group, Inc. was founded in 1960 and is headquartered in Bronx, New York.