Head to Head Analysis: LINKBANCORP (NASDAQ:LNKB) and Peapack-Gladstone Financial (NASDAQ:PGC)

LINKBANCORP (NASDAQ:LNKB) and Peapack-Gladstone Financial (NASDAQ:PGC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for LINKBANCORP and Peapack-Gladstone Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
LINKBANCORP	0	0	2	0	3.00
Peapack-Gladstone Financial	0	0	2	1	3.33

LINKBANCORP currently has a consensus price target of $8.75, indicating a potential upside of 22.38%. Peapack-Gladstone Financial has a consensus price target of $36.33, indicating a potential upside of 24.05%. Given Peapack-Gladstone Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Peapack-Gladstone Financial is more favorable than LINKBANCORP.

Dividends

LINKBANCORP pays an annual dividend of $0.30 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.2%. Peapack-Gladstone Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. LINKBANCORP pays out 30.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Peapack-Gladstone Financial pays out 10.9% 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.

Profitability

This table compares LINKBANCORP and Peapack-Gladstone Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
LINKBANCORP	20.62%	10.32%	1.03%
Peapack-Gladstone Financial	7.62%	5.25%	0.46%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares LINKBANCORP and Peapack-Gladstone Financial”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
LINKBANCORP	$167.59 million	1.60	$26.21 million	$1.00	7.15
Peapack-Gladstone Financial	$406.92 million	1.27	$32.99 million	$1.83	16.01

Peapack-Gladstone Financial has higher revenue and earnings than LINKBANCORP. LINKBANCORP is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Peapack-Gladstone Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

37.5% of LINKBANCORP shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 72.8% of Peapack-Gladstone Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 37.5% of LINKBANCORP shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 7.6% of Peapack-Gladstone Financial shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

LINKBANCORP has a beta of 0.48, suggesting that its stock price is 52% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Peapack-Gladstone Financial has a beta of 0.92, suggesting that its stock price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Peapack-Gladstone Financial beats LINKBANCORP on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About LINKBANCORP

LINKBANCORP, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for The Gratz Bank, that provides various banking products and services to individuals, families, nonprofit, and business customers in Pennsylvania. Its deposit products include demand, saving, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposits. The company also offers commercial real estate, commercial business, commercial real estate construction, land development, residential real estate, home equity, consumer, agricultural, and municipal loans. It also provides online banking, mobile banking, direct and remote deposit, and cash management services. The company was incorporated in 2018 and is headquartered in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania.

About Peapack-Gladstone Financial

Peapack-Gladstone Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Peapack-Gladstone Bank that provides private banking and wealth management services in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Banking and Peapack Private. It offers checking and savings accounts, money market and interest-bearing checking accounts, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts. The company also provides working capital lines of credit, term loans for fixed asset acquisitions, commercial mortgages, multi-family mortgages, and other forms of asset-based financing services; and residential mortgages, home equity lines of credit, and other second mortgage loans. In addition, it offers corporate and industrial (C&I) and equipment finance, commercial real estate, multifamily, residential, and consumer lending activities; treasury management services; C&I advisory services; escrow management; deposit generation; investment management services; personal trust services, including services as executor, trustee, administrator, custodian, and guardian; and other financial planning, tax preparation, and advisory services. Further, the company provides telephone and Internet banking, merchant credit card, and customer support sales services. Its private banking clients include businesses, non-profits, and consumers; wealth management clients comprise individuals, families, foundations, endowments, trusts, and estates; and commercial loan clients include business owners, professionals, retailers, contractors, and real estate investors. The company operates its private banking locations in Bedminster, Morristown, Princeton, and Teaneck, New Jersey; and branches in Somerset, Morris, Hunterdon, and Union counties, as well as operates automated teller machines. Peapack-Gladstone Financial Corporation was founded in 1921 and is headquartered in Bedminster, New Jersey.