Comparing Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) & Capitol Federal Financial (NASDAQ:CFFN)

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) and Capitol Federal Financial (NASDAQ:CFFN) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership, profitability and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Eastern Bankshares and Capitol Federal Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Eastern Bankshares	11.07%	6.02%	0.85%
Capitol Federal Financial	12.67%	4.96%	0.53%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

71.7% of Eastern Bankshares shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.5% of Capitol Federal Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.2% of Eastern Bankshares shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.2% of Capitol Federal Financial shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Eastern Bankshares and Capitol Federal Financial”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Eastern Bankshares	$1.09 billion	3.50	$119.56 million	$0.67	26.48
Capitol Federal Financial	$180.76 million	4.32	$38.01 million	$0.39	15.06

Eastern Bankshares has higher revenue and earnings than Capitol Federal Financial. Capitol Federal Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Eastern Bankshares, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk & Volatility

Eastern Bankshares has a beta of 0.94, indicating that its share price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Capitol Federal Financial has a beta of 0.5, indicating that its share price is 50% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Eastern Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Capitol Federal Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.34 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.8%. Eastern Bankshares pays out 71.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Capitol Federal Financial pays out 87.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Eastern Bankshares and Capitol Federal Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Eastern Bankshares	0	1	1	0	2.50
Capitol Federal Financial	0	2	0	0	2.00

Eastern Bankshares currently has a consensus target price of $20.25, indicating a potential upside of 14.12%. Capitol Federal Financial has a consensus target price of $6.50, indicating a potential upside of 10.64%. Given Eastern Bankshares’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Eastern Bankshares is more favorable than Capitol Federal Financial.

Summary

Eastern Bankshares beats Capitol Federal Financial on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Eastern Bankshares

Eastern Bankshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Eastern Bank that provides banking products and services primarily to retail, commercial, and small business customers. The company provides deposit accounts, interest checking accounts, money market accounts, savings accounts, and time certificates of deposit accounts. It also offers commercial and industrial, commercial real estate and construction, small business, residential real estate, and home equity loans; lines of credit; and other consumer loans comprising unsecured personal lines of credit, overdraft protection, automobile loans, home improvement loans, airplane loans, and other personal loans. In addition, the company provides trust, financial planning and portfolio management, automated lock box collection, cash management, and account reconciliation services; personal, business, and employee benefits insurance products. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. was founded in 1818 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.

About Capitol Federal Financial

Capitol Federal Financial, Inc. operates as the holding company for Capitol Federal Savings Bank that provides various retail banking products and services in the United States. The company accepts a range of deposit products, including savings accounts, money market accounts, interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing checking accounts, and certificates of deposit. It also provides various loan products, such as one- to four-family residential real estate loans, commercial real estate, commercial and industrial, construction loans, and small business loans, as well as consumer loans, which include home equity loans and lines of credit, home improvement loans, vehicle loans, and loans secured by savings deposits. In addition, the company offers mobile, telephone, and online banking services, as well as bill payment services; credit cards; mortgage loan; operates a call center; and invests in various securities. The company serves the metropolitan areas of Topeka, Wichita, Lawrence, Manhattan, Emporia, and Salina, Kansas, and a portion of the metropolitan area of greater Kansas City. Capitol Federal Financial, Inc. was founded in 1893 and is headquartered in Topeka, Kansas.