LINKBANCORP (NASDAQ:LNKB) & Pathfinder Bancorp (NASDAQ:PBHC) Head to Head Comparison

Pathfinder Bancorp (NASDAQ:PBHC) and LINKBANCORP (NASDAQ:LNKB) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, valuation, earnings and dividends.

Risk & Volatility

Pathfinder Bancorp has a beta of 0.15, meaning that its stock price is 85% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, LINKBANCORP has a beta of 0.6, meaning that its stock price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Pathfinder Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. LINKBANCORP pays an annual dividend of $0.30 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.5%. Pathfinder Bancorp pays out 26.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. LINKBANCORP pays out -58.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Pathfinder Bancorp has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. LINKBANCORP is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Pathfinder Bancorp and LINKBANCORP, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Pathfinder Bancorp	0	0	0	0	N/A
LINKBANCORP	0	1	0	0	2.00

LINKBANCORP has a consensus price target of $7.00, indicating a potential upside of 5.58%. Given LINKBANCORP’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe LINKBANCORP is more favorable than Pathfinder Bancorp.

Profitability

This table compares Pathfinder Bancorp and LINKBANCORP’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Pathfinder Bancorp	12.76%	8.05%	0.66%
LINKBANCORP	-18.34%	3.59%	0.38%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

26.7% of Pathfinder Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 37.5% of LINKBANCORP shares are held by institutional investors. 24.0% of Pathfinder Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 35.8% of LINKBANCORP shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Pathfinder Bancorp and LINKBANCORP’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Pathfinder Bancorp	$72.85 million	0.82	$9.29 million	$1.51	8.42
LINKBANCORP	$66.29 million	3.74	-$11.97 million	($0.51)	-13.00

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

Summary

Pathfinder Bancorp beats LINKBANCORP on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Pathfinder Bancorp

Pathfinder Bancorp, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for Pathfinder Bank that provides various banking and financial products and services in New York. The company's deposit products include checking, savings, and money market deposit accounts; certificates of deposit; and demand and time deposits. Its loan portfolio comprises commercial real estate, commercial, residential real estate, construction, and tax-exempt loans; home equity loans and junior liens; and consumer loans comprising automobile, recreational vehicles, and unsecured personal loans, as well as unsecured lines of credit and loans secured by deposit accounts. The company is also involved in the property, casualty, and life insurance brokerage business. It primarily serves individuals, families, small to mid-size businesses, and municipalities. The company was founded in 1859 and is headquartered in Oswego, New York.

About LINKBANCORP

LINKBANCORP, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for The Gratz Bank, that provides various banking products and services to individuals, families, nonprofit, and business customers in Pennsylvania. Its deposit products include demand, saving, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposits. The company also offers commercial real estate, commercial business, commercial real estate construction, land development, residential real estate, home equity, consumer, agricultural, and municipal loans. It also provides online banking, mobile banking, direct and remote deposit, and cash management services. The company was incorporated in 2018 and is headquartered in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania.