Columbia Financial (NASDAQ:CLBK) versus Magyar Bancorp (NASDAQ:MGYR) Financial Analysis

Magyar Bancorp (NASDAQ:MGYR – Get Rating) and Columbia Financial (NASDAQ:CLBK – Get Rating) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation and risk.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

25.1% of Magyar Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 13.4% of Columbia Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 8.9% of Magyar Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.6% of Columbia Financial shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Magyar Bancorp and Columbia Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Magyar Bancorp	22.66%	8.14%	1.00%
Columbia Financial	23.13%	8.43%	0.87%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Magyar Bancorp and Columbia Financial’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Magyar Bancorp	$32.22 million	2.10	$7.92 million	$1.23	8.21
Columbia Financial	$340.07 million	5.01	$86.17 million	$0.80	20.11

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

Volatility and Risk

Magyar Bancorp has a beta of 0.13, indicating that its share price is 87% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Columbia Financial has a beta of 0.19, indicating that its share price is 81% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Magyar Bancorp and Columbia Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Magyar Bancorp	0	0	0	0	N/A
Columbia Financial	0	1	0	0	2.00

Columbia Financial has a consensus price target of $24.00, suggesting a potential upside of 49.16%. Given Columbia Financial’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Columbia Financial is more favorable than Magyar Bancorp.

Summary

Columbia Financial beats Magyar Bancorp on 8 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Magyar Bancorp

(Get Rating)

Magyar Bancorp, Inc. is a bank holding company, which engages in the provision of financial services. It offers commercial and retail financial services, including the taking of time, savings and demand deposits, the making of commercial, consumer and home equity loans and the provision of other financial services. The company was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in New Brunswick, NJ.

About Columbia Financial

(Get Rating)

Columbia Financial, Inc. is a holding company, which engages in the provision of traditional banking and other financial services. It offers personal and business banking, wealth management, and other banking services such as online banking, bills payment, and mobile check deposit. The company was founded in March 1997 and is headquartered in Fair Lawn, NJ.