Financial Review: Greene County Bancorp (NASDAQ:GCBC) versus Gouverneur Bancorp Inc./MD (OTCMKTS:GOVB)

Greene County Bancorp (NASDAQ:GCBC) and Gouverneur Bancorp Inc./MD (OTCMKTS:GOVB) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings and valuation.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Greene County Bancorp and Gouverneur Bancorp Inc./MD, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Greene County Bancorp	0	1	0	0	2.00
Gouverneur Bancorp Inc./MD	0	0	0	0	0.00

Dividends

Greene County Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Gouverneur Bancorp Inc./MD pays an annual dividend of $0.18 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Greene County Bancorp pays out 17.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Gouverneur Bancorp Inc./MD pays out 18.9% 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 raised its dividend for 11 consecutive years. Greene County Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Volatility & Risk

Greene County Bancorp has a beta of 0.44, indicating that its stock price is 56% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Gouverneur Bancorp Inc./MD has a beta of 0.56, indicating that its stock price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

13.4% of Greene County Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 21.6% of Gouverneur Bancorp Inc./MD shares are owned by institutional investors. 59.2% of Greene County Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 5.4% of Gouverneur Bancorp Inc./MD 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 Greene County Bancorp and Gouverneur Bancorp Inc./MD”s 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	3.68	$31.14 million	$2.29	12.54
Gouverneur Bancorp Inc./MD	$9.72 million	2.10	$730,000.00	$0.95	20.32

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

Profitability

This table compares Greene County Bancorp and Gouverneur Bancorp Inc./MD’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Greene County Bancorp	27.28%	15.41%	1.26%
Gouverneur Bancorp Inc./MD	9.59%	N/A	N/A

Summary

Greene County Bancorp beats Gouverneur Bancorp Inc./MD on 12 of the 15 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 Gouverneur Bancorp Inc./MD

Gouverneur Bancorp, Inc. operates as the holding company for Gouverneur Savings and Loan Association that provides various banking products and services to individuals and businesses in New York. It accepts passbook savings, NOW, money market deposit, and checking accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company's loan products include mortgage loans, one- to four-family residential loans, commercial real estate loans, and multi-family residential real estate loans, residential and commercial construction loans, commercial land loans, home equity loans, lines of credit, commercial loans, automobiles, motorcycles, campers, boats, and other recreational vehicles, as well as personal secured and unsecured loans. It also invests in municipal bonds, U.S. Treasury securities, U.S. Government agencies and government-sponsored obligations, and mortgage-backed securities. In addition, the company offers online, mobile, bill pay, and telephone banking; electronic or paper statements; and ATM, debit cards, direct deposits, mobile remote deposit capture, automatic payments and transfers, bank checks, wire transfers, and safe deposit box services. It serves primarily the St. Lawrence County, and Jefferson and Lewis counties in New York State. The company was founded in 1892 and is headquartered in Gouverneur, New York.