Critical Analysis: TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) & Westbury Bancorp (OTCMKTS:WBBW)

Westbury Bancorp (OTCMKTS:WBBW) and TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, risk, earnings, dividends, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Risk & Volatility

Westbury Bancorp has a beta of 0.14, suggesting that its share price is 86% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, TowneBank has a beta of 0.93, suggesting that its share price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Westbury Bancorp and TowneBank’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Westbury Bancorp	N/A	N/A	N/A
TowneBank	15.77%	7.77%	0.96%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Westbury Bancorp and TowneBank, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Westbury Bancorp	0	0	0	0	0.00
TowneBank	0	1	1	0	2.50

TowneBank has a consensus price target of $40.50, indicating a potential upside of 16.25%. Given TowneBank’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe TowneBank is more favorable than Westbury Bancorp.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Westbury Bancorp and TowneBank”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Westbury Bancorp	$34.41 million	1.60	$7.99 million	N/A	N/A
TowneBank	$1.03 billion	2.55	$153.71 million	$2.15	16.20

TowneBank has higher revenue and earnings than Westbury Bancorp.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

0.3% of Westbury Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 56.0% of TowneBank shares are owned by institutional investors. 10.9% of Westbury Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 8.1% of TowneBank shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

TowneBank beats Westbury Bancorp on 11 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Westbury Bancorp

Westbury Bancorp, Inc. operates as a holding company for Westbury Bank that provides various community banking and financial products and services for individuals, families, and businesses in the United States. The company offers checking and savings accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, and term certificate accounts; personal, mortgage, one-to four-family residential real estate, multi-family, commercial business, loans, commercial real estate loans, and construction loans; credit cards; and online and mobile banking services. Westbury Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1926 and is headquartered in Waukesha, Wisconsin.

About TowneBank

TowneBank provides retail and commercial banking services for individuals, commercial enterprises, and professionals. The company operates through three segments: Banking, Realty, and Insurance. It accepts various deposits, including demand deposits, savings accounts, money rate savings, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts. The company also offers secured and unsecured personal loans for financing automobiles, home improvements, education, and personal investments; commercial loans for working capital, business expansion, and equipment and machinery purchases; and mortgage loans, as well as real estate acquisition, development, and construction loans. In addition, it provides other services, such as safe deposit boxes, treasury management services, direct deposit of payroll and social security checks, and automatic drafts for various accounts, as well as online, mobile, and on-call banking services. Further, the company offers documentation services to accomplish tax deferral to investors; investment and asset management services; commercial mortgage brokerage services; and other financial services, such as financial, retirement, and estate planning services, as well as assistance on various investment options comprising alternative investments, annuities, margin accounts, convertible bonds, and pension and profit-sharing plans. Additionally, it provides residential real estate, relocation, property management, vacation rentals, and title and settlement services; and originates residential mortgage loans. The company also offers life, property, casualty, and vehicle insurance services; and employee benefit programs, such as health, dental, vision, and disability insurance. It operates in Richmond, Virginia, the Greater Hampton Roads region in southeastern Virginia, northeastern North Carolina, Raleigh, Charlotte, Greensboro, and Greenville, North Carolina. TowneBank was incorporated in 1998 and is based in Portsmouth, Virginia.