Head-To-Head Review: National Bank (NYSE:NBHC) versus Catalyst Bancorp (NASDAQ:CLST)

National Bank (NYSE:NBHC) and Catalyst Bancorp (NASDAQ:CLST) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk and dividends.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for National Bank and Catalyst Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
National Bank	0	4	2	1	2.57
Catalyst Bancorp	0	1	0	0	2.00

National Bank currently has a consensus price target of $46.60, indicating a potential upside of 26.03%. Given National Bank’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe National Bank is more favorable than Catalyst Bancorp.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares National Bank and Catalyst Bancorp”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
National Bank	$599.50 million	2.35	$118.82 million	$3.10	11.93
Catalyst Bancorp	$10.02 million	5.51	-$3.09 million	$0.57	23.40

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

Profitability

This table compares National Bank and Catalyst Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
National Bank	20.02%	9.44%	1.25%
Catalyst Bancorp	13.74%	2.70%	0.79%

Risk and Volatility

National Bank has a beta of 0.75, meaning that its stock price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Catalyst Bancorp has a beta of 0.18, meaning that its stock price is 82% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

92.7% of National Bank shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 33.1% of Catalyst Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 2.9% of National Bank shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.9% of Catalyst Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

National Bank beats Catalyst Bancorp on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About National Bank

National Bank Holdings Corporation operates as the bank holding company for NBH Bank that provides various banking products and financial services to commercial, business, and consumer clients in the United States. It offers deposit products, including checking, savings, money market, and other deposit accounts, including fixed-rate and fixed maturity time deposits. The company also provides commercial and industrial loans and leases, such as working capital loans, equipment loans, lender finance loans, food and agriculture loans, government and non-profit loans, owner occupied commercial real estate loans, and other commercial loans and leases; non-owner occupied commercial real estate loans consisting of loans on commercial properties, such as office buildings, warehouse/distribution buildings, multi-family, hospitality, and retail buildings; small business administration loans to support small businesses and entrepreneurs; term loans, line of credits, and real estate secured loans; residential real estate loans; and consumer loans. In addition, it offers treasury management solutions comprising online and mobile banking, commercial credit card, wire transfer, automated clearing house, electronic bill payment, lock box, remote deposit capture, merchant processing, cash vault, controlled disbursements, and fraud prevention services, as well as other auxiliary services, including account reconciliation, collections, repurchase accounts, zero balance accounts, and sweep accounts. The company operates through a network of banking centers located in Colorado, the greater Kansas City region, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, and Texas. It also operates ATMs. The company was formerly known as NBH Holdings Corp. and changed its name to National Bank Holdings Corporation in March 2012. The company was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colorado.

About Catalyst Bancorp

Catalyst Bancorp, Inc. operates as a holding company for Catalyst Bank that provides various banking services to individuals and businesses in Louisiana. The company accepts various deposit products, including savings accounts, demand and NOW accounts, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit. It also offers single family residential first mortgage loans, commercial real estate mortgage loans, multi-family residential mortgage loans, commercial and industrial loans, construction and land loans, consumer loans, and other loans. In addition, the company invests in various types of securities comprising mortgage-backed securities, the U.S. treasury obligations, securities of various federal agencies and of state and municipal governments, certificates of deposit at federally insured banks and savings institutions, and federal funds. Catalyst Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1922 and is headquartered in Opelousas, Louisiana.