Head-To-Head Comparison: Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) & Pioneer Bancorp (NASDAQ:PBFS)

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Pioneer Bancorp	18.33%	7.07%	1.07%
Fulton Financial	17.00%	12.64%	1.20%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Pioneer Bancorp and Fulton Financial”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Pioneer Bancorp	$79.44 million	4.24	$15.26 million	$0.87	14.98
Fulton Financial	$1.86 billion	1.83	$288.74 million	$1.71	10.95

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

72.0% of Fulton Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 2.5% of Pioneer Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of Fulton Financial shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Pioneer Bancorp and Fulton Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Pioneer Bancorp	0	0	0	0	0.00
Fulton Financial	0	5	1	0	2.17

Fulton Financial has a consensus target price of $21.1250, indicating a potential upside of 12.85%. Given Fulton Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Fulton Financial is more favorable than Pioneer Bancorp.

Risk & Volatility

Pioneer Bancorp has a beta of 0.37, meaning that its stock price is 63% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Fulton Financial has a beta of 0.82, meaning that its stock price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Fulton Financial beats Pioneer Bancorp on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Fulton Financial

Fulton Financial Corporation operates as a financial holding company that provides consumer and commercial banking products and services in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Virginia. It accepts various checking accounts and savings deposit products, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts. The company offers consumer loans products, including home equity loans and lines of credit, automobile loans, personal lines of credit, and checking account overdraft protection; construction and jumbo residential mortgage loans; and commercial lending products comprising commercial real estate, commercial and industrial, and construction loans, as well as equipment lease financing loans. In addition, it offers letters of credit, cash management services, and traditional deposit products; and wealth management services, including investment management, trust, brokerage, insurance, and investment advisory services. Further, the company owns trust preferred securities; and sells various life insurance products. It provides its products and services through financial center offices, as well as through a network of automated teller machines, telephone banking, mobile banking, and online banking. Fulton Financial Corporation was founded in 1882 and is headquartered in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.