Contrasting Flagstar Bank, National Association (NYSE:FLG) and Peapack-Gladstone Financial (NASDAQ:PGC)

Flagstar Bank, National Association (NYSE:FLG) and Peapack-Gladstone Financial (NASDAQ:PGC) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, valuation, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Flagstar Bank, National Association and Peapack-Gladstone Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Flagstar Bank, National Association	1.08%	0.98%	0.08%
Peapack-Gladstone Financial	11.09%	7.82%	0.68%

Volatility and Risk

Flagstar Bank, National Association has a beta of 1.05, indicating that its stock price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Peapack-Gladstone Financial has a beta of 0.72, indicating that its stock price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

67.9% of Flagstar Bank, National Association shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 72.8% of Peapack-Gladstone Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 21.4% of Flagstar Bank, National Association shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.8% of Peapack-Gladstone Financial shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Flagstar Bank, National Association and Peapack-Gladstone Financial”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Flagstar Bank, National Association	$4.81 billion	0.96	-$177.00 million	$0.03	369.37
Peapack-Gladstone Financial	$444.61 million	1.73	$37.33 million	$2.88	15.06

Peapack-Gladstone Financial has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Flagstar Bank, National Association. Peapack-Gladstone Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Flagstar Bank, National Association, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Flagstar Bank, National Association and Peapack-Gladstone Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Flagstar Bank, National Association	0	4	10	0	2.71
Peapack-Gladstone Financial	0	1	3	1	3.00

Flagstar Bank, National Association presently has a consensus target price of $15.96, indicating a potential upside of 44.02%. Peapack-Gladstone Financial has a consensus target price of $56.33, indicating a potential upside of 29.86%. Given Flagstar Bank, National Association’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Flagstar Bank, National Association is more favorable than Peapack-Gladstone Financial.

Dividends

Flagstar Bank, National Association pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. Peapack-Gladstone Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Flagstar Bank, National Association pays out 133.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Peapack-Gladstone Financial pays out 6.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Peapack-Gladstone Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Peapack-Gladstone Financial beats Flagstar Bank, National Association on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Flagstar Bank, National Association

Flagstar Financial, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Flagstar Bank, N.A. that provides banking products and services in the United States. The company’s deposit products include interest-bearing checking and money market, savings, non-interest-bearing, and retirement accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. Its loan products comprise multi-family loans; commercial real estate loans; acquisition, development, and construction loans; commercial and industrial loans; one-to-four family loans; specialty finance loans and leases; warehouse loans; and other loans, such as home equity lines of credit, boat and recreational vehicle indirect lending, point of sale consumer loans, and other consumer loans, including overdraft loans. The company offers cash management products; non-deposit investment and insurance products; and online banking, mobile banking, and bank-by-phone services. It primarily serves individuals, small and mid-size businesses, and professional associations. The company was formerly known as New York Community Bancorp, Inc. and changed its name to Flagstar Financial, Inc. in October 2024. Flagstar Financial, Inc. was founded in 1859 and is headquartered in Hicksville, New York.

About Peapack-Gladstone Financial

Peapack-Gladstone Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Peapack-Gladstone Bank that provides private banking and wealth management services in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Banking and Peapack Private. It offers checking and savings accounts, money market and interest-bearing checking accounts, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts. The company also provides working capital lines of credit, term loans for fixed asset acquisitions, commercial mortgages, multi-family mortgages, and other forms of asset-based financing services; and residential mortgages, home equity lines of credit, and other second mortgage loans. In addition, it offers corporate and industrial (C&I) and equipment finance, commercial real estate, multifamily, residential, and consumer lending activities; treasury management services; C&I advisory services; escrow management; deposit generation; investment management services; personal trust services, including services as executor, trustee, administrator, custodian, and guardian; and other financial planning, tax preparation, and advisory services. Further, the company provides telephone and Internet banking, merchant credit card, and customer support sales services. Its private banking clients include businesses, non-profits, and consumers; wealth management clients comprise individuals, families, foundations, endowments, trusts, and estates; and commercial loan clients include business owners, professionals, retailers, contractors, and real estate investors. The company operates its private banking locations in Bedminster, Morristown, Princeton, and Teaneck, New Jersey; and branches in Somerset, Morris, Hunterdon, and Union counties, as well as operates automated teller machines. Peapack-Gladstone Financial Corporation was founded in 1921 and is headquartered in Bedminster, New Jersey.