Reviewing NSTS Bancorp (NASDAQ:NSTS) and Ballston Spa Bancorp (OTCMKTS:BSPA)

NSTS Bancorp (NASDAQ:NSTS) and Ballston Spa Bancorp (OTCMKTS:BSPA) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, valuation, dividends and profitability.

Volatility & Risk

NSTS Bancorp has a beta of 0.22, suggesting that its stock price is 78% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ballston Spa Bancorp has a beta of -0.15, suggesting that its stock price is 115% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

23.7% of NSTS Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 2.4% of Ballston Spa Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 8.3% of NSTS Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for NSTS Bancorp and Ballston Spa Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NSTS Bancorp	1	0	0	0	1.00
Ballston Spa Bancorp	0	0	0	0	0.00

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares NSTS Bancorp and Ballston Spa Bancorp”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
NSTS Bancorp	$13.27 million	5.46	-$390,000.00	($0.02)	-689.00
Ballston Spa Bancorp	$47.24 million	1.79	$4.54 million	$0.33	226.85

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

Profitability

This table compares NSTS Bancorp and Ballston Spa Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NSTS Bancorp	-0.72%	-0.12%	-0.04%
Ballston Spa Bancorp	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

Ballston Spa Bancorp beats NSTS Bancorp on 7 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About NSTS Bancorp

NSTS Bancorp, Inc. operates as a savings and loan holding company for North Shore Trust and Savings that provides banking products and services in Illinois. The company offers interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing checking, money market, savings, and time deposit accounts; and one- to four-family residential mortgage, multi-family and commercial real estate mortgage, construction, home equity, and consumer loans. It operates through full-service banking offices in Lake County, Illinois; and one loan production office in Chicago. The company was founded in 1921 and is headquartered in Waukegan, Illinois.

About Ballston Spa Bancorp

Ballston Spa Bancorp, Inc. operates as a holding company for Ballston Spa National Bank that provides a range of banking, financing, fiduciary, brokerage, and other financial services to corporate, municipal, and individual customers in the United States. It offers checking, money market, savings, health savings, and individual retirement accounts, as well as certificates of deposit; loan products, such as mortgage and home construction, improvement, and equity loans, auto, boat, RV, personal, commercial, and small business loans, as well as lines of credit and government programs; and debits and credit cards. The company also provides personal investment services, which include annuities, college savings plans, mutual funds, and life and long term care insurance products; retirement plans; college planning services; investment and asset management; trusteeship; estate settlement; special needs and disability trusts; and wealth management services. In addition, the company offers treasury management services; and merchant and payment processing services, as well as online and mobile banking, and digital payments. The company was founded in 1838 and is based in Ballston Spa, New York.