Comparing Blue Foundry Bancorp (NASDAQ:BLFY) and Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO)

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) and Blue Foundry Bancorp (NASDAQ:BLFY) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, earnings, valuation and institutional ownership.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Peoples Bancorp and Blue Foundry Bancorp”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Peoples Bancorp	$618.38 million	2.24	$106.78 million	$3.39	11.35
Blue Foundry Bancorp	$49.07 million	5.60	-$11.91 million	($0.46)	-28.78

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

60.7% of Peoples Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 56.5% of Blue Foundry Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.3% of Peoples Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.3% of Blue Foundry Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Peoples Bancorp and Blue Foundry Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Peoples Bancorp	19.76%	11.08%	1.41%
Blue Foundry Bancorp	-9.82%	-2.84%	-0.44%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Peoples Bancorp and Blue Foundry Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Peoples Bancorp	0	2	3	1	2.83
Blue Foundry Bancorp	1	0	0	0	1.00

Peoples Bancorp presently has a consensus price target of $42.00, indicating a potential upside of 9.20%. Given Peoples Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Peoples Bancorp is more favorable than Blue Foundry Bancorp.

Volatility & Risk

Peoples Bancorp has a beta of 0.63, suggesting that its stock price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Blue Foundry Bancorp has a beta of 0.55, suggesting that its stock price is 45% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Peoples Bancorp beats Blue Foundry Bancorp on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Peoples Bancorp

Peoples Bancorp Inc. is a financial holding company headquartered in Marietta, Ohio. Its principal subsidiary, Peoples Bank, provides commercial and consumer banking services to individuals, businesses and local organizations. The company offers deposit accounts, loans, payment services and other banking products, along with services such as wealth management, insurance and equipment financing. Its branches and service areas extend across Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky and Virginia. Peoples traces its history to 1902, when it was established in Marietta.

About Blue Foundry Bancorp

Blue Foundry Bancorp is the bank holding company for Blue Foundry Bank, a community bank headquartered in Rutherford, New Jersey. The bank traces its roots to Boiling Springs Savings Bank, founded in 1939, and adopted the Blue Foundry name in 2020. Blue Foundry Bank serves individuals, families and businesses primarily in northern New Jersey. Its services include checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, residential mortgages, home equity loans, commercial real estate and business lending, and online and mobile banking.