Contrasting Catalyst Bancorp (NASDAQ:CLST) and FB Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBLA)

FB Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBLA) and Catalyst Bancorp (NASDAQ:CLST) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, dividends, profitability, institutional ownership and valuation.

Volatility and Risk

FB Bancorp has a beta of 0.09, suggesting that its stock price is 91% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Catalyst Bancorp has a beta of 0.17, suggesting that its stock price is 83% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

33.1% of Catalyst Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 2.2% of FB Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 5.9% of Catalyst Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares FB Bancorp and Catalyst Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
FB Bancorp	-3.08%	-0.81%	-0.22%
Catalyst Bancorp	13.26%	2.53%	0.74%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for FB Bancorp and Catalyst Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
FB Bancorp	1	0	0	0	1.00
Catalyst Bancorp	0	1	0	0	2.00

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares FB Bancorp and Catalyst Bancorp”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
FB Bancorp	$52.14 million	5.23	-$6.21 million	$0.15	91.63
Catalyst Bancorp	$23.69 million	2.90	$2.05 million	$0.56	29.82

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

Summary

Catalyst Bancorp beats FB Bancorp on 9 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About FB Bancorp

FB Bancorp Inc. operates as a bank holding company for Fidelity Bank. The Company, through its subsidiaries, provides deposit accounts, mortgages, home equity and consumer loans, credit and debit cards, online and mobile banking, investments and other financial services. FB Bancorp Inc. is based in New Orleans.

About Catalyst Bancorp

Catalyst Bancorp, Inc. operates as a holding company for Catalyst Bank that provides various banking services to individuals and businesses in Louisiana. The company accepts various deposit products, including savings accounts, demand and NOW accounts, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit. It also offers single family residential first mortgage loans, commercial real estate mortgage loans, multi-family residential mortgage loans, commercial and industrial loans, construction and land loans, consumer loans, and other loans. In addition, the company invests in various types of securities comprising mortgage-backed securities, the U.S. treasury obligations, securities of various federal agencies and of state and municipal governments, certificates of deposit at federally insured banks and savings institutions, and federal funds. Catalyst Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1922 and is headquartered in Opelousas, Louisiana.