Winchester Bancorp (NASDAQ:WSBK) and Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) Financial Review

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) and Winchester Bancorp (NASDAQ:WSBK) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, earnings and profitability.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

51.2% of Alerus Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.3% of Alerus Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.3% of Winchester Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

Alerus Financial has a beta of 0.69, suggesting that its stock price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Winchester Bancorp has a beta of -0.33, suggesting that its stock price is 133% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Alerus Financial	$399.92 million	1.95	$17.44 million	$1.06	29.57
Winchester Bancorp	$51.65 million	2.33	$4.42 million	$0.49	26.37

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Alerus Financial and Winchester Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Alerus Financial	0	4	3	0	2.43
Winchester Bancorp	1	0	0	0	1.00

Alerus Financial presently has a consensus target price of $35.75, suggesting a potential upside of 14.07%. Given Alerus Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Alerus Financial is more favorable than Winchester Bancorp.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Alerus Financial	6.87%	14.41%	1.55%
Winchester Bancorp	8.56%	3.72%	0.42%

Summary

Alerus Financial beats Winchester Bancorp on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Alerus Financial

Alerus Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Alerus Financial, National Association that engages in the provision of various financial services to businesses and consumers. The company operates in four segments: Banking, Mortgage, Retirement and Benefit Services, and Wealth Management. It offers various deposit products, including demand deposits, interest-bearing transaction accounts, money market accounts, time and savings deposits, checking accounts, and certificates of deposit; and treasury management products, including electronic receivables management, remote deposit capture, cash vault services, merchant services, and other cash management services. The company also provides commercial loans, business term loans, lines of credit, and commercial real estate loans, as well as construction and land development loans; consumer lending products, including residential first mortgage loans; installment loans and lines of credit; and second mortgage loans. In addition, it offers retirement plan administration and investment advisory services, employee stock ownership plan, fiduciary services, payroll, health savings accounts, and other benefit services, as well as individual retirement accounts; and financial planning, investment management, personal and corporate trust, estate administration, and custody services. Further, the company provides debit and credit cards, online banking, mobile banking/wallet, payment, private banking, payroll accounts, flex spending accounts, administration, and government health insurance program services. It offers banking services in North Dakota, Minnesota, and Arizona; and retirement and benefit plans through offices located in Michigan, Minnesota, and Colorado. The company was formerly known as First National Bank North Dakota and changed its name to Alerus Financial Corporation in 2000. Alerus Financial Corporation was founded in 1879 and is headquartered in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

About Winchester Bancorp

Winchester Bancorp, MHC will be formed as the Massachusetts-chartered mutual holding company of Winchester Bancorp, Inc. in connection with the reorganization of Winchester Savings Bank into the “two-tier”mutual holding company form of organization. Upon completion of the reorganization and offering, Winchester Bancorp, MHC will own 55% of Winchester Bancorp, Inc.’s common stock. As a mutual holding company, Winchester Bancorp, MHC will be a non-stock company that will be required by law to own a majority of the outstanding voting stock of Winchester Bancorp, Inc. for so long as Winchester Bancorp, MHC remains in existence. Winchester Bancorp, MHC, through its board of trustees, will be able to exercise voting control over virtually all matters put to a vote of stockholders of Winchester Bancorp, Inc. Winchester Bancorp, MHC will be subject to comprehensive regulation and examination by the Massachusetts Commissioner of Banks and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Federal Reserve Board”). Winchester Bancorp, Inc. is a Maryland corporation that was incorporated in December 2024. The offering of common stock is being made by Winchester Bancorp, Inc. in connection with the reorganization of Winchester Savings Bank into the “two-tier” mutual holding company form of organization. Winchester Bancorp, Inc. will become the bank holding company for Winchester Savings Bank by owning all the outstanding shares of capital stock of Winchester Savings Bank. To date, Winchester Bancorp, Inc. has engaged in organizational activities only. Following the reorganization and offering, Winchester Bancorp, Inc.’s primary business activity will be to own all the outstanding shares of capital stock of Winchester Savings Bank. Winchester Bancorp, Inc. will be authorized to engage in any other business activities that are permissible for bank holding companies under Massachusetts and federal law. Upon completion of the reorganization and offering, Winchester Bancorp, MHC will own 55% and public stockholders will own 43% of Winchester Bancorp, Inc.’s common stock. Public stockholders will not be able to exercise voting control over most matters put to a vote of stockholders. In addition, as a “controlled company” under the meaning of the Nasdaq Stock Market corporate governance rules following the offering, Winchester Bancorp, Inc. will be exempt from certain corporate governance requirements, including the requirement that a majority of our board of directors be independent under Nasdaq Stock Market listing standards, and that executive compensation and director nominations be overseen by independent directors. Winchester Bancorp, Inc. will be subject to comprehensive regulation and examination by the Massachusetts Commissioner of Banks and the Federal Reserve Board. Winchester Bancorp, Inc.’s website address will be www.winchestersavings.com. Winchester Savings Bank is a Massachusetts-chartered savings bank headquartered in Winchester, Massachusetts. Winchester Savings Bank was originally chartered in 1871, and operates from its main office and four full-service branch offices in eastern Massachusetts, located in Arlington, Danvers and Woburn. Winchester Savings Bank’s subsidiaries are Sachem Holdings, Inc., Aberjona Holdings, Inc., 1871 Company, LLC, and Wedgemere Holdings, LLC. Sachem Holdings, Inc. and Aberjona Holdings, Inc. are Massachusetts security corporations established to hold investment securities. 1871 Company, LLC’s principal activity is the holding of bank premises. Wedgemere Holdings, LLC’s principal activity is the holding of properties acquired in settlement of loans. We consider Middlesex County and, to a lesser extent, Essex County, as our primary market area for gathering deposits. We consider Middlesex County as well as the surrounding counties located in Massachusetts as our primary market area for lending. Our business consists primarily of taking deposits from the general public and investing those deposits, together with funds generated from operations, in one- to four-family residential real estate loans, multi-family residential real estate loans, construction loans, commercial real estate loans, home equity loans and lines of credit, commercial business loans and consumer loans, as well as in investment securities. Winchester Savings Bank is subject to comprehensive regulation and examination by the Massachusetts Commissioner of Banks and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the “FDIC”). Winchester Savings Bank’s main office is located in Winchester, Massachusetts.