Security Bancorp (OTCMKTS:SCYT) vs. Kearny Financial (NASDAQ:KRNY) Head-To-Head Contrast

Security Bancorp (OTCMKTS:SCYT) and Kearny Financial (NASDAQ:KRNY) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

71.0% of Kearny Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.4% of Kearny Financial shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Security Bancorp and Kearny Financial”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Security Bancorp	$24.35 million	1.51	$5.49 million	$14.33	6.77
Kearny Financial	$343.53 million	1.50	$26.08 million	$0.52	15.35

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

Volatility and Risk

Security Bancorp has a beta of 0.05, suggesting that its stock price is 95% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Kearny Financial has a beta of 0.66, suggesting that its stock price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Security Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Kearny Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.5%. Security Bancorp pays out 7.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Kearny Financial pays out 84.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Profitability

This table compares Security Bancorp and Kearny Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Security Bancorp	22.55%	N/A	N/A
Kearny Financial	9.41%	4.26%	0.42%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Security Bancorp and Kearny Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Security Bancorp	0	0	0	0	0.00
Kearny Financial	0	2	1	0	2.33

Kearny Financial has a consensus target price of $8.00, indicating a potential upside of 0.25%. Given Kearny Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Kearny Financial is more favorable than Security Bancorp.

Summary

Kearny Financial beats Security Bancorp on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Security Bancorp

Security Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Security Federal Savings Bank that provides banking products and services to individual and corporate customers in Tennessee. The company's deposit products include checking and savings accounts, and certificates of deposit. It also offers consumer loans; mortgage loans; and commercial loans, including installment loans, lines of credit, and real estate lending. In addition, the company provides financial services, as well as online, mobile, and telephone banking services. Security Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1960 and is headquartered in McMinnville, Tennessee.

About Kearny Financial

Kearny Financial Corp. operates as the holding company for Kearny Bank that provides various banking products and services in the United States. It offers various deposit products, including interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing checking accounts, money market deposit accounts, savings accounts, and certificates of deposit accounts. The company also provides various loans, such as multi-family and nonresidential real estate mortgage loans, commercial term loans and lines of credit, one- to four-family residential mortgage loans, and home equity loans and lines of credit; loans to individuals, builders, or developers for the construction of multi-family residential buildings or commercial real estate, or for the construction or renovation of one- to four-family residences; overdraft lines of credit; and personal loans. In addition, it engages in the investment activities. Kearny Financial Corp. was founded in 1884 and is headquartered in Fairfield, New Jersey.