Comparing Pathfinder Bancorp (NASDAQ:PBHC) & Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB)

Pathfinder Bancorp (NASDAQ:PBHC) and Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, dividends and valuation.

Risk & Volatility

Pathfinder Bancorp has a beta of 0.15, indicating that its stock price is 85% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Associated Banc has a beta of 0.79, indicating that its stock price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Pathfinder Bancorp and Associated Banc”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Pathfinder Bancorp	$87.92 million	0.80	$3.38 million	$0.67	22.12
Associated Banc	$2.39 billion	1.58	$123.14 million	$0.86	26.58

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

26.7% of Pathfinder Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 83.0% of Associated Banc shares are owned by institutional investors. 15.4% of Pathfinder Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.5% of Associated Banc shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Pathfinder Bancorp and Associated Banc’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Pathfinder Bancorp	5.23%	3.75%	0.31%
Associated Banc	6.02%	8.47%	0.85%

Dividends

Pathfinder Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Associated Banc pays an annual dividend of $0.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. Pathfinder Bancorp pays out 59.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Associated Banc pays out 107.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Pathfinder Bancorp has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Associated Banc has raised its dividend for 13 consecutive years. Associated Banc is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Pathfinder Bancorp and Associated Banc, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Pathfinder Bancorp	0	0	0	0	0.00
Associated Banc	0	9	2	0	2.18

Associated Banc has a consensus target price of $26.00, indicating a potential upside of 13.76%. Given Associated Banc’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Associated Banc is more favorable than Pathfinder Bancorp.

Summary

Associated Banc beats Pathfinder Bancorp on 15 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Pathfinder Bancorp

Pathfinder Bancorp, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for Pathfinder Bank that provides various banking and financial products and services in New York. The company's deposit products include checking, savings, and money market deposit accounts; certificates of deposit; and demand and time deposits. Its loan portfolio comprises commercial real estate, commercial, residential real estate, construction, and tax-exempt loans; home equity loans and junior liens; and consumer loans comprising automobile, recreational vehicles, and unsecured personal loans, as well as unsecured lines of credit and loans secured by deposit accounts. The company is also involved in the property, casualty, and life insurance brokerage business. It primarily serves individuals, families, small to mid-size businesses, and municipalities. The company was founded in 1859 and is headquartered in Oswego, New York.

About Associated Banc

Associated Banc-Corp, a bank holding company, provides various banking and nonbanking products to individuals and businesses in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Minnesota. The company offers lending solutions, including commercial loans and lines of credit, commercial real estate financing, construction loans, letters of credit, leasing, asset based lending and equipment finance, loan syndications products, residential mortgages, home equity loans and lines of credit, personal and installment loans, auto finance and business loans, and business lines of credit. It also provides deposit and cash management solutions, such as commercial checking and interest-bearing deposit products, cash vault and night depository services, liquidity solutions, payables and receivables solutions, and information services; specialized financial services, such as interest rate risk management and foreign exchange solutions; fiduciary services, such as administration of pension, profit-sharing and other employee benefit plans, fiduciary and corporate agency services, and institutional asset management services; and investable funds solutions, including savings, money market deposit accounts, IRA accounts, CDs, fixed and variable annuities, full-service, discount, and online investment brokerage; investment advisory services; and trust and investment management accounts. In addition, the company offers deposit and transactional solutions, including checking, credit, debit and pre-paid cards, online banking and bill pay; and money transfer services. Associated Banc-Corp was founded in 1861 and is headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin.