Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF – Get Free Report) and Catalyst Bancorp (NASDAQ:CLST – Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitability, risk, valuation and analyst recommendations.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
81.8% of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 33.1% of Catalyst Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 1.5% of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 10.1% of Catalyst Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida and Catalyst Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2.50 |
| Catalyst Bancorp | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
Risk and Volatility
Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida has a beta of 0.88, indicating that its share price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Catalyst Bancorp has a beta of 0.12, indicating that its share price is 88% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida and Catalyst Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida | 14.42% | 8.23% | 1.11% |
| Catalyst Bancorp | 13.09% | 2.49% | 0.72% |
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida and Catalyst Bancorp”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida | $935.52 million | 3.17 | $144.88 million | $1.52 | 20.09 |
| Catalyst Bancorp | $11.05 million | 5.82 | $2.05 million | $0.55 | 28.83 |
Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida has higher revenue and earnings than Catalyst Bancorp. Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Catalyst Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida beats Catalyst Bancorp on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida
Seacoast Banking Corp. of Florida is a financial holding company, which engages in the provision of integrated financial services. It provides banking and investment services to businesses and consumers, including personal and business deposit products, Internet and mobile banking, personal, commercial and mortgage loans, wealth management services, and treasury management solutions. The company was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Stuart, FL.
About Catalyst Bancorp
Catalyst Bancorp, Inc. operates as a holding company for Catalyst Bank that provides various banking services to individuals and businesses in Louisiana. The company accepts various deposit products, including savings accounts, demand and NOW accounts, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit. It also offers single family residential first mortgage loans, commercial real estate mortgage loans, multi-family residential mortgage loans, commercial and industrial loans, construction and land loans, consumer loans, and other loans. In addition, the company invests in various types of securities comprising mortgage-backed securities, the U.S. treasury obligations, securities of various federal agencies and of state and municipal governments, certificates of deposit at federally insured banks and savings institutions, and federal funds. Catalyst Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1922 and is headquartered in Opelousas, Louisiana.
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