Southern Banc (OTCMKTS:SRNN) versus Pathfinder Bancorp (NASDAQ:PBHC) Head to Head Analysis

Pathfinder Bancorp (NASDAQ:PBHC) and Southern Banc (OTCMKTS:SRNN) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

26.7% of Pathfinder Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 15.4% of Pathfinder Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 22.0% of Southern Banc shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Pathfinder Bancorp has a beta of 0.12, indicating that its share price is 88% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Southern Banc has a beta of -0.13, indicating that its share price is 113% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Pathfinder Bancorp and Southern Banc’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Pathfinder Bancorp	-4.16%	-2.74%	-0.23%
Southern Banc	7.47%	5.56%	0.74%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Pathfinder Bancorp and Southern Banc, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Pathfinder Bancorp	1	0	0	0	1.00
Southern Banc	0	0	0	0	0.00

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Pathfinder Bancorp and Southern Banc”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Pathfinder Bancorp	$79.15 million	0.84	-$1.93 million	($0.60)	-22.59
Southern Banc	$12.13 million	0.76	$920,000.00	$1.22	9.34

Southern Banc has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Pathfinder Bancorp. Pathfinder Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Southern Banc, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Southern Banc beats Pathfinder Bancorp on 7 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Pathfinder Bancorp

Pathfinder Bancorp, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for Pathfinder Bank that provides various banking and financial products and services in New York. The company's deposit products include checking, savings, and money market deposit accounts; certificates of deposit; and demand and time deposits. Its loan portfolio comprises commercial real estate, commercial, residential real estate, construction, and tax-exempt loans; home equity loans and junior liens; and consumer loans comprising automobile, recreational vehicles, and unsecured personal loans, as well as unsecured lines of credit and loans secured by deposit accounts. The company is also involved in the property, casualty, and life insurance brokerage business. It primarily serves individuals, families, small to mid-size businesses, and municipalities. The company was founded in 1859 and is headquartered in Oswego, New York.

About Southern Banc

The Southern Banc Company, Inc. operates as the holding company for The Southern Bank company that provides various banking products and services in Alabama. The company’s personal banking products include checking accounts, home mortgage loans, home equity loans, auto loans, and personal loans. Its business banking products comprise business checking accounts, cash flow management, real estate lending, and equipment financing. The Southern Banc Company, Inc. was founded in 1936 and is based in Gadsden, Alabama.