Contrasting CFSB Bancorp (NASDAQ:CFSB) and First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF)

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) and CFSB Bancorp (NASDAQ:CFSB) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends, earnings and valuation.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for First Commonwealth Financial and CFSB Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Commonwealth Financial	0	3	3	0	2.50
CFSB Bancorp	0	1	0	0	2.00

First Commonwealth Financial presently has a consensus price target of $19.63, suggesting a potential upside of 20.77%. Given First Commonwealth Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe First Commonwealth Financial is more favorable than CFSB Bancorp.

Profitability

This table compares First Commonwealth Financial and CFSB Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Commonwealth Financial	20.00%	10.12%	1.25%
CFSB Bancorp	-1.92%	-0.35%	-0.07%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares First Commonwealth Financial and CFSB Bancorp”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Commonwealth Financial	$505.41 million	3.34	$142.57 million	$1.38	11.78
CFSB Bancorp	$7.60 million	12.27	-$260,000.00	($0.04)	-356.25

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

72.6% of First Commonwealth Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 1.4% of CFSB Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 2.2% of First Commonwealth Financial shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 4.9% of CFSB Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

First Commonwealth Financial has a beta of 0.86, indicating that its stock price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CFSB Bancorp has a beta of 0.5, indicating that its stock price is 50% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

First Commonwealth Financial beats CFSB Bancorp on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About First Commonwealth Financial

First Commonwealth Financial Corporation, a financial holding company, provides various consumer and commercial banking services in the United States. Its consumer services include personal checking accounts, interest-earning checking accounts, savings and health savings accounts, insured money market accounts, debit cards, investment certificates, fixed and variable rate certificates of deposit, mortgage loans, secured and unsecured installment loans, construction and real estate loans, safe deposit facilities, credit cards, credit lines with overdraft checking protection, IRA accounts, and automated teller machine (atm) services, as well as internet, mobile, and telephone banking services. The company's commercial banking services comprise commercial lending, business checking accounts, online account management services, payroll direct deposits, commercial cash management services, and repurchase agreements, as well as ACH origination services. In addition, it offers various trust and asset management services; auto, home, and business insurance, as well as term life insurance; and annuities, mutual funds, and stock and bond brokerage services through a broker-dealer and insurance brokers. The company was founded in 1934 and is headquartered in Indiana, Pennsylvania.

About CFSB Bancorp

CFSB Bancorp, Inc. focuses on operating as a holding company for Colonial Federal Savings Bank that provides various financial services to individuals and small businesses. It accepts various deposits, including non-interest-bearing checking accounts, interest-bearing checking accounts, money market accounts, savings accounts, and certificates of deposit. The company offers one- to four-family residential real estate loans, multi-family real estate loans, commercial real estate loans, second mortgage loans, home equity lines of credit, and consumer loans. In addition, it invests in various types of investment grade investment securities and liquid assets comprising the U.S. treasury obligations, securities of various government-sponsored enterprises, corporate debt, mortgage-backed securities, collateralized mortgage obligations, asset-backed securities, municipal obligations, mutual funds, and certificates of deposit of federally insured institutions. Further, it offers online and mobile banking, and online bill pay services. The company operates through three full-service banking offices and one limited-service branch office in Norfolk County, Massachusetts. The company was founded in 1889 and is based in Quincy, Massachusetts. CFSB Bancorp, Inc. is a subsidiary of 15 Beach, MHC.