Flagstar Financial (NYSE:FLG – Get Free Report) and Provident Bancorp (NASDAQ:PVBC – Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, profitability, risk, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and dividends.
Risk & Volatility
Flagstar Financial has a beta of 1.09, indicating that its share price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Provident Bancorp has a beta of 0.48, indicating that its share price is 52% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of current ratings for Flagstar Financial and Provident Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Flagstar Financial | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
| Provident Bancorp | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
Dividends
Flagstar Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. Provident Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. Flagstar Financial pays out -0.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Provident Bancorp pays out 9.3% 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. Flagstar Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Flagstar Financial and Provident Bancorp”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Flagstar Financial | $8.20 billion | 0.48 | -$79.00 million | ($4.36) | -2.17 |
| Provident Bancorp | $55.40 million | 3.65 | $10.95 million | $0.43 | 26.51 |
Provident Bancorp has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Flagstar Financial. Flagstar Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Provident Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares Flagstar Financial and Provident Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Flagstar Financial | -18.40% | -11.35% | -0.78% |
| Provident Bancorp | 5.53% | 2.36% | 0.32% |
Institutional & Insider Ownership
67.9% of Flagstar Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 74.6% of Provident Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 6.4% of Flagstar Financial shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.9% of Provident Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Summary
Provident Bancorp beats Flagstar Financial on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Flagstar Financial
Flagstar Financial, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Flagstar Bank, N.A. that provides banking products and services in the United States. The company’s deposit products include interest-bearing checking and money market, savings, non-interest-bearing, and retirement accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. Its loan products comprise multi-family loans; commercial real estate loans; acquisition, development, and construction loans; commercial and industrial loans; one-to-four family loans; specialty finance loans and leases; warehouse loans; and other loans, such as home equity lines of credit, boat and recreational vehicle indirect lending, point of sale consumer loans, and other consumer loans, including overdraft loans. The company offers cash management products; non-deposit investment and insurance products; and online banking, mobile banking, and bank-by-phone services. It primarily serves individuals, small and mid-size businesses, and professional associations. The company was formerly known as New York Community Bancorp, Inc. and changed its name to Flagstar Financial, Inc. in October 2024. Flagstar Financial, Inc. was founded in 1859 and is headquartered in Hicksville, New York.
About Provident Bancorp
Provident Bancorp, Inc. is a Maryland corporation that was formed in 2019 to be the successor corporation to Provident Bancorp, Inc., a Massachusetts corporation, and the holding company for The Provident Bank. The Provident Bank, a subsidiary of Provident Bancorp, Inc. is an innovative, commercial bank that finds solutions for its business and private clients.
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