Critical Contrast: Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) and Pioneer Bancorp (NASDAQ:PBFS)

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) and Pioneer Bancorp (NASDAQ:PBFS) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, dividends, earnings and risk.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Bank OZK and Pioneer Bancorp”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Bank OZK	$2.77 billion	1.95	$716.46 million	$6.20	7.80
Pioneer Bancorp	$31.81 million	11.35	$6.45 million	$0.80	18.00

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

86.2% of Bank OZK shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.7% of Bank OZK shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.5% of Pioneer Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Bank OZK and Pioneer Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Bank OZK	25.81%	13.00%	1.80%
Pioneer Bancorp	16.17%	6.38%	0.95%

Volatility & Risk

Bank OZK has a beta of 0.92, meaning that its share price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Pioneer Bancorp has a beta of 0.45, meaning that its share price is 55% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Bank OZK and Pioneer Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Bank OZK	2	3	5	0	2.30
Pioneer Bancorp	0	1	0	0	2.00

Bank OZK currently has a consensus price target of $58.75, indicating a potential upside of 21.51%. Given Bank OZK’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Bank OZK is more favorable than Pioneer Bancorp.

Summary

Bank OZK beats Pioneer Bancorp on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Bank OZK

Bank OZK provides various retail and commercial banking services for individuals and businesses in the United States. The company offers deposit services, including non-interest bearing checking, interest bearing transaction, business sweep, savings, money market, individual retirement, and other accounts, as well as time and reciprocal deposits. It also provides trust and wealth services, such as personal trusts, custodial accounts, investment management accounts, and retirement accounts, as well as corporate trust services, including trustee, paying agent and registered transfer agent services, and other related services. In addition, the company offers treasury management services comprising automated clearing house, wire transfer, transaction reporting, wholesale lockbox, remote deposit capture, automated credit line transfer, reconciliation, positive pay, commercial card, and other services, as well as zero balance and investment sweep accounts. Further, it provides real estate, consumer, small business, indirect recreational vehicle and marine, equipment, agricultural, commercial and industrial, government guaranteed, lines of credit, homebuilder, and affordable housing loans; lender and structured, business aviation, and subscription financing services; and mortgage and other lending products. Additionally, the company offers ATMs; telephone, online, and mobile banking services; credit and debit cards; safe deposit boxes; and other products and services. The company was formerly known as Bank of the Ozarks and changed its name to Bank OZK in July 2018. Bank OZK was founded in 1903 and is headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas.

About Pioneer Bancorp

Pioneer Bancorp, Inc. operates as a holding company for Pioneer Savings Bank that provides various banking products and services in New York. The company accepts various deposit products, such as demand, savings, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit accounts. Its loan products include commercial real estate, commercial and industrial, commercial construction, residential mortgage lending, consumer loans, and home equity lines of credit. The company also invests in the U.S. governmental securities, fixed rate collateralized mortgage obligations, mortgage-backed securities, fixed-rate investment grade bonds, and equity securities. In addition, the company offers personal and commercial insurance products, including homeowners, automobile, and comprehensive business insurance; employee benefit products and services, such as group health, dental, disability, and life insurance products, as well as defined contribution, defined benefit administration, and human resource management services; and wealth management services comprising investment advice, retirement income planning, estate planning, business succession, and employer retirement planning. The company was founded in 1889 and is based in Albany, New York. Pioneer Bancorp, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Pioneer Bancorp, MHC.