Critical Comparison: Penns Woods Bancorp (NASDAQ:PWOD) versus Coastal Financial (NASDAQ:CCB)

Penns Woods Bancorp (NASDAQ:PWOD) and Coastal Financial (NASDAQ:CCB) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, dividends, earnings, institutional ownership and risk.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

27.9% of Penns Woods Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 59.2% of Coastal Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.0% of Penns Woods Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 16.8% of Coastal Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Penns Woods Bancorp and Coastal Financial”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Penns Woods Bancorp	$68.50 million	2.88	$17.74 million	$2.36	10.97
Coastal Financial	$452.86 million	2.70	$45.22 million	$3.25	25.06

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

Volatility & Risk

Penns Woods Bancorp has a beta of 0.36, suggesting that its stock price is 64% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Coastal Financial has a beta of 1, suggesting that its stock price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Penns Woods Bancorp and Coastal Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Penns Woods Bancorp	14.87%	9.26%	0.82%
Coastal Financial	6.43%	14.98%	1.20%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Penns Woods Bancorp and Coastal Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Penns Woods Bancorp	0	0	0	0	0.00
Coastal Financial	0	0	3	1	3.25

Coastal Financial has a consensus target price of $98.75, indicating a potential upside of 21.27%. Given Coastal Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Coastal Financial is more favorable than Penns Woods Bancorp.

Summary

Coastal Financial beats Penns Woods Bancorp on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Penns Woods Bancorp

Penns Woods Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Jersey Shore State Bank, which provides commercial and retail banking services to individuals, partnerships, non-profit organizations, and corporations. It accepts time, demand, and savings deposits, including super NOW accounts, statement savings accounts, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit, as well as checking and individual retirement account (IRAs) accounts. The company also offers loan products comprising residential, commercial, and construction real estate loans; agricultural loans for the purchase or improvement of real estate; commercial loans for the acquisition and improvement of real estate, purchase of equipment, and working capital purposes; letters of credit; consumer loans, such as construction and residential mortgages, home equity loans and lines, automobile financing, personal loans and lines of credit, and overdraft and check lines; and revolving credit loans with overdraft protection. In addition, it provides securities brokerage and financial planning services, which include the sale of life insurance products, annuities, and estate planning services; property and casualty, and auto insurance products; safe deposit services; ATM services; and Internet and telephone banking services. Further, the company engages in real estate transactions and investment activities. It operates through a network of offices located in Clinton, Lycoming, Centre, Montour, Union, Blair, and Luzerne Counties, Pennsylvania. Penns Woods Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1934 and is headquartered in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

About Coastal Financial

Coastal Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Coastal Community Bank that provides various banking products and services to small and medium-sized businesses, professionals, and individuals in the Puget Sound region in Washington. It accepts a range of deposit products, including demand and savings accounts, time deposits, and money market accounts. The company also offers commercial and industrial loans, such as term loans, commercial lines of credit, capital call lines working capital loans, equipment financing, borrowing base loans, small business administration loans, and other loan products; owner and non-owner-occupied real estate loans, and multi-family residential loans; construction, land, and land development loans; residential real estate loans; and consumer and other loans, including automobile, boat and recreational vehicle, and secured term loans, as well as personal lines of credit, including overdraft protection. In addition, it provides remote deposit capture, online and mobile banking, and direct and reciprocal deposit services; and debit cards. Further, the company offers business accounts and cash management services, including business checking and savings accounts, and treasury services, as well as Banking as a Service (BaaS), a platform that allows broker dealers and digital financial service providers to offer their customers banking services. Coastal Financial Corporation was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Everett, Washington.