Comparing Ballston Spa Bancorp (OTCMKTS:BSPA) and S&T Bancorp (NASDAQ:STBA)

Ballston Spa Bancorp (OTCMKTS:BSPA) and S&T Bancorp (NASDAQ:STBA) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation, earnings and dividends.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

2.4% of Ballston Spa Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 65.2% of S&T Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 1.2% of S&T Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Ballston Spa Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. S&T Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. S&T Bancorp pays out 41.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. S&T Bancorp has raised its dividend for 13 consecutive years. S&T Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Ballston Spa Bancorp and S&T Bancorp”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ballston Spa Bancorp	$36.16 million	1.51	$4.78 million	N/A	N/A
S&T Bancorp	$402.12 million	3.91	$134.23 million	$3.50	12.27

S&T Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Ballston Spa Bancorp.

Risk and Volatility

Ballston Spa Bancorp has a beta of -0.18, suggesting that its stock price is 118% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, S&T Bancorp has a beta of 0.86, suggesting that its stock price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Ballston Spa Bancorp and S&T Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ballston Spa Bancorp	N/A	N/A	N/A
S&T Bancorp	23.61%	9.25%	1.37%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Ballston Spa Bancorp and S&T Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ballston Spa Bancorp	0	0	0	0	0.00
S&T Bancorp	0	5	2	0	2.29

S&T Bancorp has a consensus target price of $44.40, indicating a potential upside of 3.35%. Given S&T Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe S&T Bancorp is more favorable than Ballston Spa Bancorp.

Summary

S&T Bancorp beats Ballston Spa Bancorp on 14 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ballston Spa Bancorp

Ballston Spa Bancorp, Inc. operates as a holding company for Ballston Spa National Bank that provides a range of banking, financing, fiduciary, brokerage, and other financial services to corporate, municipal, and individual customers in the United States. It offers checking, money market, savings, health savings, and individual retirement accounts, as well as certificates of deposit; loan products, such as mortgage and home construction, improvement, and equity loans, auto, boat, RV, personal, commercial, and small business loans, as well as lines of credit and government programs; and debits and credit cards. The company also provides personal investment services, which include annuities, college savings plans, mutual funds, and life and long term care insurance products; retirement plans; college planning services; investment and asset management; trusteeship; estate settlement; special needs and disability trusts; and wealth management services. In addition, the company offers treasury management services; and merchant and payment processing services, as well as online and mobile banking, and digital payments. The company was founded in 1838 and is based in Ballston Spa, New York.

About S&T Bancorp

S&T Bancorp, Inc. is a bank holding company, which engages in the provision of consumer, commercial, and small business banking services. It operates through the following segments: Commercial Real Estate, Commercial and Industrial, Commercial Construction, Business Banking, Consumer Real Estate, and Other Consumer. The Commercial Real Estate segment includes both owner-occupied properties and investment properties for various purposes such as hotels, retail, multifamily and health care. The Commercial and Industrial segment focuses on the companies or manufacturers for the purpose of production, operating capacity, accounts receivable, inventory or equipment financing. The Commercial Construction segment refers to the finance construction of buildings or other structures, as well as to finance the acquisition and development of raw land for various purposes. The Business Banking segment is made to small businesses that are standard, non-complex products evaluated through a streamlined credit approval process that has been designed to maximize efficiency while maintaining high credit quality standards. The Consumer Real Estate segment offers first and second liens such as 1-4 family residential mortgages, home equity loans and home equity lines of credit. The Other Consumer segment consists of individuals that may be secured by assets other than 1-4 family residences, as well as unsecured loans. The company was founded on March 17, 1983 and is headquartered in Indiana, PA.