Head-To-Head Contrast: HomeStreet (NASDAQ:HMST) vs. Lakeland Bancorp (NASDAQ:LBAI)

HomeStreet (NASDAQ:HMST – Get Rating) and Lakeland Bancorp (NASDAQ:LBAI – Get Rating) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, risk, valuation, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares HomeStreet and Lakeland Bancorp’s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
HomeStreet	$355.86 million	0.32	$66.54 million	$2.74	2.25
Lakeland Bancorp	$395.64 million	2.18	$107.37 million	$1.69	7.85

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

Dividends

HomeStreet pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.5%. Lakeland Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.58 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.4%. HomeStreet pays out 14.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Lakeland Bancorp pays out 34.3% 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. Lakeland Bancorp has raised its dividend for 12 consecutive years. HomeStreet is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Volatility & Risk

HomeStreet has a beta of 0.93, indicating that its share price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lakeland Bancorp has a beta of 0.81, indicating that its share price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

83.9% of HomeStreet shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 57.7% of Lakeland Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.6% of HomeStreet shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.7% of Lakeland Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares HomeStreet and Lakeland Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
HomeStreet	13.29%	9.10%	0.56%
Lakeland Bancorp	25.66%	10.34%	1.07%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for HomeStreet and Lakeland Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
HomeStreet	0	4	1	0	2.20
Lakeland Bancorp	0	3	1	0	2.25

HomeStreet currently has a consensus price target of $29.80, suggesting a potential upside of 383.77%. Lakeland Bancorp has a consensus price target of $18.60, suggesting a potential upside of 40.27%. Given HomeStreet’s higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe HomeStreet is more favorable than Lakeland Bancorp.

Summary

Lakeland Bancorp beats HomeStreet on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About HomeStreet

(Get Rating)

HomeStreet, Inc. is a holding company, which engages in the provision of commercial and consumer banking and real estate lending services. It operates through the Commercial and Consumer Banking. The Commercial and Consumer Banking segment offers diversified financial products and services to its commercial and consumer customers through bank branches, and through automated teller machines (ATMs), online, mobile and telephone banking. The company was founded on August 17, 1921 and is headquartered in Seattle, WA.

About Lakeland Bancorp

(Get Rating)

Lakeland Bancorp, Inc. is a bank holding company, which engages in the provision of lending, depository, and related financial services. Its consumer banking services include checking accounts, savings accounts, interest-bearing checking accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, internet banking, secured and unsecured loans, consumer installment loans, mortgage loans, and safe deposit services. The company was founded in March 1989 and is headquartered in Oak Ridge, NJ.