Reviewing WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) and City Bank (OTCMKTS:CTBK)

City Bank (OTCMKTS:CTBK) and WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares City Bank and WaFd’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
City Bank	N/A	N/A	N/A
WaFd	16.02%	8.40%	0.84%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares City Bank and WaFd”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
City Bank	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
WaFd	$1.41 billion	1.79	$226.07 million	$2.64	12.53

WaFd has higher revenue and earnings than City Bank.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for City Bank and WaFd, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
City Bank	0	0	0	0	0.00
WaFd	0	5	0	0	2.00

WaFd has a consensus target price of $32.00, indicating a potential downside of 3.24%. Given City Bank’s higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe City Bank is more favorable than WaFd.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

83.7% of WaFd shares are held by institutional investors. 37.5% of City Bank shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.5% of WaFd shares are held by company 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

WaFd beats City Bank on 6 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About City Bank

As of April 17, 2010, City Bank was acquired by Whidbey Island Bank. City Bank offers commercial banking services. The company was incorporated in 1974 and is headquartered in Lynnwood, Washington.

About WaFd

WaFd, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Washington Federal Bank that provides lending, depository, insurance, and other banking services in the United States. The company offers deposit products, including business and personal checking accounts, and term certificates of deposit, as well as money market accounts and passbook savings accounts. It also provides single-family dwellings, construction, land acquisition and development, consumer lot, multi-family residential, commercial real estate, home equity, business, and consumer loans, as well as commercial and industrial loans. In addition, the company offers insurance brokerage services, such as individual and business insurance policies; holds and markets real estate properties; and debit and credit cards, as well as acts as the trustee. It serves consumers, mid-sized and large businesses, and owners and developers of commercial real estate. The company was formerly known as Washington Federal, Inc. and changed its name to WaFd, Inc in September 2023. WaFd, Inc was founded in 1917 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.