Comparing Peapack-Gladstone Financial (NASDAQ:PGC) and TrustCo Bank Corp NY (NASDAQ:TRST)

TrustCo Bank Corp NY (NASDAQ:TRST) and Peapack-Gladstone Financial (NASDAQ:PGC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, dividends, earnings and risk.

Dividends

TrustCo Bank Corp NY pays an annual dividend of $1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Peapack-Gladstone Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. TrustCo Bank Corp NY pays out 42.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Peapack-Gladstone Financial pays out 6.0% 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.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares TrustCo Bank Corp NY and Peapack-Gladstone Financial”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
TrustCo Bank Corp NY	$278.36 million	3.51	$61.14 million	$3.76	15.27
Peapack-Gladstone Financial	$444.61 million	1.85	$37.33 million	$3.33	13.97

TrustCo Bank Corp NY has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Peapack-Gladstone Financial. Peapack-Gladstone Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than TrustCo Bank Corp NY, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares TrustCo Bank Corp NY and Peapack-Gladstone Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
TrustCo Bank Corp NY	22.83%	10.00%	1.02%
Peapack-Gladstone Financial	12.69%	9.12%	0.79%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

68.6% of TrustCo Bank Corp NY shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 72.8% of Peapack-Gladstone Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.4% of TrustCo Bank Corp NY shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.8% of Peapack-Gladstone Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

TrustCo Bank Corp NY has a beta of 0.65, meaning that its share price is 35% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Peapack-Gladstone Financial has a beta of 0.74, meaning that its share price is 26% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for TrustCo Bank Corp NY and Peapack-Gladstone Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
TrustCo Bank Corp NY	0	0	1	0	3.00
Peapack-Gladstone Financial	0	2	3	0	2.60

Peapack-Gladstone Financial has a consensus target price of $56.33, suggesting a potential upside of 21.12%. Given Peapack-Gladstone Financial’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Peapack-Gladstone Financial is more favorable than TrustCo Bank Corp NY.

Summary

TrustCo Bank Corp NY beats Peapack-Gladstone Financial on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About TrustCo Bank Corp NY

TrustCo Bank Corp NY operates as the holding company for Trustco Bank, a federal savings bank that provides personal and business banking services to individuals and businesses. The company accepts deposits; and offers loans and investments. It also operates as a real estate investment trust that acquires, holds, and manages real estate mortgage assets, including residential mortgage loans and mortgage-backed securities. In addition, the company serves as the executor of estates and trustee of personal trusts; provides asset and wealth management, estate planning and related advice, and custodial services; and acts as trustee for various types of employee benefit plans, and corporate pension and profit-sharing trusts. It operates through banking offices in Albany, Columbia, Dutchess, Greene, Montgomery, Orange, Putnam, Rensselaer, Rockland, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Ulster, Warren, Washington, and Westchester counties of New York; Brevard, Charlotte, Flagler, Hillsborough, Indian River, Lake, Manatee, Martin, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Polk, Sarasota, Seminole, and Volusia counties in Florida; Bennington County in Vermont; Berkshire County in Massachusetts; and Bergen County in New Jersey, as well as automatic teller machines. The company was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Glenville, New York.

About Peapack-Gladstone Financial

Peapack-Gladstone Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Peapack-Gladstone Bank that provides private banking and wealth management services in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Banking and Peapack Private. It offers checking and savings accounts, money market and interest-bearing checking accounts, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts. The company also provides working capital lines of credit, term loans for fixed asset acquisitions, commercial mortgages, multi-family mortgages, and other forms of asset-based financing services; and residential mortgages, home equity lines of credit, and other second mortgage loans. In addition, it offers corporate and industrial (C&I) and equipment finance, commercial real estate, multifamily, residential, and consumer lending activities; treasury management services; C&I advisory services; escrow management; deposit generation; investment management services; personal trust services, including services as executor, trustee, administrator, custodian, and guardian; and other financial planning, tax preparation, and advisory services. Further, the company provides telephone and Internet banking, merchant credit card, and customer support sales services. Its private banking clients include businesses, non-profits, and consumers; wealth management clients comprise individuals, families, foundations, endowments, trusts, and estates; and commercial loan clients include business owners, professionals, retailers, contractors, and real estate investors. The company operates its private banking locations in Bedminster, Morristown, Princeton, and Teaneck, New Jersey; and branches in Somerset, Morris, Hunterdon, and Union counties, as well as operates automated teller machines. Peapack-Gladstone Financial Corporation was founded in 1921 and is headquartered in Bedminster, New Jersey.