Brookline Bancorp (NASDAQ:BRKL) and Magyar Bancorp (NASDAQ:MGYR) Critical Survey

Brookline Bancorp (NASDAQ:BRKL) and Magyar Bancorp (NASDAQ:MGYR) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, risk, profitability and valuation.

Dividends

Brookline Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.54 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.7%. Magyar Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Brookline Bancorp pays out 58.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Magyar Bancorp pays out 16.7% 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. Magyar Bancorp has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years.

Volatility & Risk

Brookline Bancorp has a beta of 0.79, meaning that its stock price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Magyar Bancorp has a beta of 0.27, meaning that its stock price is 73% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Brookline Bancorp and Magyar Bancorp’s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Brookline Bancorp	$609.22 million	1.39	$75.00 million	$0.93	10.24
Magyar Bancorp	$40.75 million	2.00	$7.71 million	$1.20	10.33

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Brookline Bancorp and Magyar Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Brookline Bancorp	0	1	3	0	2.75
Magyar Bancorp	0	0	0	0	N/A

Brookline Bancorp currently has a consensus price target of $11.25, suggesting a potential upside of 18.17%. Given Brookline Bancorp’s higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Brookline Bancorp is more favorable than Magyar Bancorp.

Profitability

This table compares Brookline Bancorp and Magyar Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Brookline Bancorp	12.04%	6.51%	0.68%
Magyar Bancorp	15.19%	6.98%	0.81%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

78.9% of Brookline Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 46.3% of Magyar Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 2.9% of Brookline Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 10.5% of Magyar Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Magyar Bancorp beats Brookline Bancorp on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Brookline Bancorp

Brookline Bancorp, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for the Brookline Bank that provide commercial, business, and retail banking services to corporate, municipal, and retail customers in the United States. Its deposit products include demand checking, NOW, money market, and savings accounts. The company's loan portfolio primarily comprises first mortgage loans secured by commercial, multi-family, and residential real estate properties; loans to business entities comprising commercial lines of credit; loans to condominium associations; loans and leases used to finance equipment for small businesses; financing for construction and development projects; and home equity and other consumer loans. It provides credit, term loans, letters of credit, foreign exchange, cash management, consumer and residential loans, wealth and investment advisory, and online and mobile banking services, as well as invests in debt and equity securities. The company was founded in 1871 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.

About Magyar Bancorp

Magyar Bancorp, Inc. operates as the holding company for Magyar Bank that provides various consumer and commercial banking services to individuals, businesses, and nonprofit organizations in New Jersey, the United States. It accepts various deposit accounts, including demand, savings, NOW, money market, and retirement accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company also provides residential mortgage loans, multi-family and commercial real estate mortgage loans, home equity loans and lines of credit, commercial business loans, and construction loans, as well as small business administration loans. In addition, it offers non-deposit investment products and financial planning services, including insurance products, fixed and variable annuities, and retirement planning for individual and commercial customers; and buys, sells, and holds investment securities. The company has branch offices located in New Brunswick, North Brunswick, South Brunswick, Branchburg, Bridgewater, and Edison, New Jersey. Magyar Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1922 and is headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey.