Analyzing Flagstar Financial (NYSE:FLG) and Pioneer Bancorp (NASDAQ:PBFS)

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

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Flagstar Financial and Pioneer Bancorp”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Flagstar Financial	$2.32 billion	2.08	-$1.09 billion	($2.60)	-4.47
Pioneer Bancorp	$79.44 million	3.76	$15.26 million	$0.77	15.01

Pioneer Bancorp has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Flagstar Financial. Flagstar 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.

Risk & Volatility

Flagstar Financial has a beta of 1.14, indicating that its share price is 14% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Pioneer Bancorp has a beta of 0.3, indicating that its share price is 70% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

67.9% of Flagstar Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 19.4% of Flagstar Financial shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.5% of Pioneer Bancorp shares are owned 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.

Analyst Recommendations

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

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Flagstar Financial	0	4	4	0	2.50
Pioneer Bancorp	0	0	0	0	0.00

Flagstar Financial presently has a consensus target price of $13.50, suggesting a potential upside of 16.08%. Given Flagstar Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Flagstar Financial is more favorable than Pioneer Bancorp.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Flagstar Financial	-17.16%	-10.72%	-0.76%
Pioneer Bancorp	16.26%	6.16%	0.93%

About Flagstar Financial

Flagstar Financial, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Flagstar Bank, N.A. that provides banking products and services in the United States. The company’s deposit products include interest-bearing checking and money market, savings, non-interest-bearing, and retirement accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. Its loan products comprise multi-family loans; commercial real estate loans; acquisition, development, and construction loans; commercial and industrial loans; one-to-four family loans; specialty finance loans and leases; warehouse loans; and other loans, such as home equity lines of credit, boat and recreational vehicle indirect lending, point of sale consumer loans, and other consumer loans, including overdraft loans. The company offers cash management products; non-deposit investment and insurance products; and online banking, mobile banking, and bank-by-phone services. It primarily serves individuals, small and mid-size businesses, and professional associations. The company was formerly known as New York Community Bancorp, Inc. and changed its name to Flagstar Financial, Inc. in October 2024. Flagstar Financial, Inc. was founded in 1859 and is headquartered in Hicksville, New York.

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.