ESSA Bancorp (NASDAQ:ESSA) and SR Bancorp (NASDAQ:SRBK) Critical Contrast

Valuation & Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
SR Bancorp	$30.62 million	3.74	-$10.86 million	$0.12	101.00
ESSA Bancorp	$66.48 million	2.94	$16.99 million	$1.78	10.80

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

Profitability

This table compares SR Bancorp and ESSA Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SR Bancorp	2.25%	0.50%	0.10%
ESSA Bancorp	15.22%	7.61%	0.77%

Volatility & Risk

SR Bancorp has a beta of 1.07, suggesting that its stock price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ESSA Bancorp has a beta of 0.38, suggesting that its stock price is 62% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

24.7% of SR Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 54.2% of ESSA Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 3.6% of SR Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 7.5% of ESSA Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

ESSA Bancorp beats SR Bancorp on 8 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About SR Bancorp

SR Bancorp, Inc. operates as the holding company for Somerset Regal Bank that provides customary retail and commercial banking services to individuals, businesses, and local municipalities in the communities of Somerset, Middlesex, Hunterdon, and Essex counties in New Jersey. It offers deposit instruments, including noninterest-bearing demand deposits, interest-bearing demand accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit. The company also provides loans comprising one- to four family-residential mortgage loans, home equity loans and lines of credit, unsecured personal loans, and rehabilitation loans; and bill payment services. In addition, it is involved in the investment activities. The company was founded in 1887 and is headquartered in Bound Brook, New Jersey.

About ESSA Bancorp

ESSA Bancorp, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for ESSA Bank & Trust that provides a range of financial services to individuals, families, and businesses in Pennsylvania. The company accepts savings accounts, interest bearing demand accounts, checking accounts, money market accounts, club accounts, certificates of deposit and IRAs, and other qualified plan accounts, as well as commercial checking accounts. It also provides first mortgage loans for the purchase, construction, or refinancing of one- to four-family residential real estate property; commercial real estate loans; home equity loans and lines of credit; auto loans; and commercial and other consumer loans, as well as loans secured by deposits and personal unsecured loans. In addition, the company offers insurance benefits consulting services, such as health insurance, life insurance, short term and long term disability, dental, vision, 401(K) retirement planning, and individual health products, as well as asset management and trust, and investment services. It operates community offices in Monroe County, Lehigh County, Northampton County, Lackawanna County, Luzerne County, Chester County, Delaware County, and Montgomery County. ESSA Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1916 and is headquartered in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.