Financial Analysis: Catalyst Bancorp (CLST) vs. Its Peers

Catalyst Bancorp (NASDAQ:CLST) is one of 919 publicly-traded companies in the “Banks” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its peers? We will compare Catalyst Bancorp to similar businesses based on the strength of its earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability and dividends.

Volatility & Risk

Catalyst Bancorp has a beta of 0.11, meaning that its share price is 89% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Catalyst Bancorp’s peers have a beta of 0.61, meaning that their average share price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

33.1% of Catalyst Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 48.0% of shares of all “Banks” companies are owned by institutional investors. 10.1% of Catalyst Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 9.7% of shares of all “Banks” companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Catalyst Bancorp and its peers revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Catalyst Bancorp	$23.69 million	$2.05 million	25.44
Catalyst Bancorp Competitors	$54.81 billion	$2.42 billion	21.36

Catalyst Bancorp’s peers have higher revenue and earnings than Catalyst Bancorp. Catalyst Bancorp is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Catalyst Bancorp and its peers, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Catalyst Bancorp	0	1	0	0	2.00
Catalyst Bancorp Competitors	7494	30253	27858	1490	2.35

As a group, “Banks” companies have a potential upside of 14.08%. Given Catalyst Bancorp’s peers stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Catalyst Bancorp has less favorable growth aspects than its peers.

Profitability

This table compares Catalyst Bancorp and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Catalyst Bancorp	12.48%	4.14%	1.18%
Catalyst Bancorp Competitors	15.63%	9.41%	0.93%

Summary

Catalyst Bancorp peers beat Catalyst Bancorp on 11 of the 13 factors compared.

Catalyst Bancorp Company Profile

Catalyst Bancorp, Inc. is a bank holding company headquartered in Opelousas, Louisiana. Through its subsidiary, St. Landry Homestead Federal Savings Bank, the company provides community banking services to individuals, families and businesses. St. Landry Homestead offers a range of financial products, including deposit accounts, residential mortgage loans, consumer lending, commercial real estate loans and other business financing. Its services also include digital banking and related transaction and cash-management solutions.