Contrasting Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) and Greene County Bancorp (NASDAQ:GCBC)

Greene County Bancorp (NASDAQ:GCBC) and Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation and profitability.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Greene County Bancorp and Provident Financial Services”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Greene County Bancorp	$132.94 million	N/A	$31.14 million	$1.98	12.43
Provident Financial Services	$1.14 billion	2.41	$115.53 million	$1.96	10.72

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

Volatility & Risk

Greene County Bancorp has a beta of 0.4, indicating that its stock price is 60% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Provident Financial Services has a beta of 0.88, indicating that its stock price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Greene County Bancorp and Provident Financial Services, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Greene County Bancorp	0	1	0	0	2.00
Provident Financial Services	0	3	3	1	2.71

Provident Financial Services has a consensus target price of $22.70, indicating a potential upside of 8.02%. Given Provident Financial Services’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Provident Financial Services is more favorable than Greene County Bancorp.

Profitability

This table compares Greene County Bancorp and Provident Financial Services’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Greene County Bancorp	24.62%	14.44%	1.12%
Provident Financial Services	18.76%	9.62%	1.06%

Dividends

Greene County Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Provident Financial Services pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.6%. Greene County Bancorp pays out 20.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Provident Financial Services pays out 49.0% 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. Greene County Bancorp has increased its dividend for 11 consecutive years.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

13.4% of Greene County Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 72.0% of Provident Financial Services shares are owned by institutional investors. 59.2% of Greene County Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.1% of Provident Financial Services shares are owned by 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.

Summary

Provident Financial Services beats Greene County Bancorp on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Greene County Bancorp

Greene County Bancorp, Inc. operates as a holding company for The Bank of Greene County that provides various financial services in the United States. The company's deposit products include savings, NOW accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, non-interest bearing checking accounts, and individual retirement accounts. Its loan portfolio consists of residential, construction and land, and multifamily loans; commercial real estate mortgage loans; consumer loans, such as loans on new and used automobiles, personal loans, and home equity loans, as well as other consumer installment loans, including passbook loans, unsecured home improvement loans, recreational vehicle loans, and deposit account overdrafts; and commercial loans. The company was founded in 1889 and is based in Catskill, New York. Greene County Bancorp, Inc. is a subsidiary of Greene County Bancorp, MHC.

About Provident Financial Services

Provident Financial Services, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Provident Bank that provides various banking products and services to individuals, families, and businesses in the United States. Its deposit products include savings, checking, interest-bearing checking, money market deposit, and certificate of deposit accounts, as well as IRA products. The company's loan portfolio comprises commercial real estate loans that are secured by properties, such as multi-family apartment buildings, office buildings, retail and industrial properties, and office buildings; commercial business loans; fixed-rate and adjustable-rate mortgage loans collateralized by one- to four-family residential real estate properties; commercial construction loans; and consumer loans consisting of home equity loans, home equity lines of credit, personal loans and unsecured lines of credit, and auto and recreational vehicle loans. It also offers cash management, remote deposit capture, payroll origination, escrow account management, and online and mobile banking services; and business credit cards. In addition, the company provides wealth management services comprising investment management, trust and estate administration, financial planning, and tax compliance and planning. Further, it sells insurance and investment products, including annuities; operates as a real estate investment trust for acquiring mortgage loans and other real estate related assets; and manages and sells real estate properties acquired through foreclosure. The company was founded in 1839 and is headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey.