Financial Analysis: Mid-Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:MSVB) versus Kearny Financial (NASDAQ:KRNY)

Mid-Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:MSVB) and Kearny Financial (NASDAQ:KRNY) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, dividends, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and earnings.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Mid-Southern Bancorp and Kearny Financial”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Mid-Southern Bancorp	$8.88 million	4.74	$1.46 million	$0.40	36.43
Kearny Financial	$326.88 million	1.60	-$86.67 million	($1.45)	-5.58

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Mid-Southern Bancorp and Kearny Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Mid-Southern Bancorp	0	0	0	0	0.00
Kearny Financial	0	1	0	0	2.00

Kearny Financial has a consensus target price of $7.00, suggesting a potential downside of 13.47%. Given Kearny Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Kearny Financial is more favorable than Mid-Southern Bancorp.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

10.1% of Mid-Southern Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 71.0% of Kearny Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 10.2% of Mid-Southern Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 8.6% of Kearny Financial shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Mid-Southern Bancorp and Kearny Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Mid-Southern Bancorp	9.43%	3.08%	0.45%
Kearny Financial	-27.43%	3.05%	0.31%

Dividends

Mid-Southern Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Kearny Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.4%. Mid-Southern Bancorp pays out 60.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Kearny Financial pays out -30.3% 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. Kearny Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Volatility & Risk

Mid-Southern Bancorp has a beta of 0.17, suggesting that its stock price is 83% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Kearny Financial has a beta of 0.8, suggesting that its stock price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Mid-Southern Bancorp beats Kearny Financial on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Mid-Southern Bancorp

Mid-Southern Bancorp, Inc. operates as the holding company for Mid-Southern Savings Bank, FSB that provides various banking products and services to individuals and business customers. It accepts various deposit products, including checking, savings, money market, and demand accounts, as well as certificates of deposit and term deposits. The company also offers loans secured by first mortgages on one- to four-family residences, including home equity loans and lines of credit; commercial and multifamily real estate loans; construction loans secured by single-family residences; commercial and multifamily real estate loans; land and lot loans; commercial business loans; consumer loans, including new and used manufactured homes, automobiles and truck, boats, and motorcycles and recreational vehicle loans; loans secured by savings deposits and other personal loans; and unsecured consumer loans. In addition, it holds and manages an investment securities portfolio. The company provides its products and services through its main office in Salem; and through its branch offices located in Mitchell and Orleans, Indiana, as well as through loan production offices located in New Albany, Indiana and Louisville, Kentucky. The company was founded in 1886 and is headquartered in Salem, Indiana.

About Kearny Financial

Kearny Financial Corp. operates as the holding company for Kearny Bank that provides various banking products and services in the United States. It offers various deposit products, including interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing checking accounts, money market deposit accounts, savings accounts, and certificates of deposit accounts. The company also provides various loans, such as multi-family and nonresidential real estate mortgage loans, commercial term loans and lines of credit, one- to four-family residential mortgage loans, and home equity loans and lines of credit; loans to individuals, builders, or developers for the construction of multi-family residential buildings or commercial real estate, or for the construction or renovation of one- to four-family residences; overdraft lines of credit; and personal loans. In addition, it engages in the investment activities. Kearny Financial Corp. was founded in 1884 and is headquartered in Fairfield, New Jersey.