Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS – Get Free Report) and Suruga Bank (OTCMKTS:SUGBY – Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, risk, dividends, earnings and analyst recommendations.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Provident Financial Services and Suruga Bank”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Provident Financial Services | $1.38 billion | 2.06 | $291.16 million | $2.35 | 9.29 |
| Suruga Bank | $730.15 million | 1.89 | $230.70 million | $13.12 | 6.10 |
Profitability
This table compares Provident Financial Services and Suruga Bank’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Provident Financial Services | 21.95% | 10.98% | 1.23% |
| Suruga Bank | 33.98% | 11.31% | 0.99% |
Insider and Institutional Ownership
72.0% of Provident Financial Services shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.0% of Provident Financial Services shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Dividends
Provident Financial Services pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.4%. Suruga Bank pays an annual dividend of $1.05 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. Provident Financial Services pays out 40.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Suruga Bank pays out 8.0% 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.
Volatility and Risk
Provident Financial Services has a beta of 0.78, meaning that its stock price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Suruga Bank has a beta of -0.04, meaning that its stock price is 104% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Provident Financial Services and Suruga Bank, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Provident Financial Services | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3.00 |
| Suruga Bank | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
Provident Financial Services presently has a consensus target price of $23.92, suggesting a potential upside of 9.55%. Given Provident Financial Services’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Provident Financial Services is more favorable than Suruga Bank.
Summary
Provident Financial Services beats Suruga Bank on 13 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
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.
About Suruga Bank
Suruga Bank Ltd. provides various banking and financial products and services to individuals and corporate customers in Japan. The company offers deposit products, such as time, ordinary, savings, foreign currency, and other deposits, as well as current and general accounts; card, housing, second house, startup, and business up term loans, as well as loans by purpose; credit and debit cards; overdrafts; and other financing products. It also provides investment trust, public bond, pension contribution, insurance, inheritance/trust, lottery, foreign currency, pay-easy, web direct, safe deposit box, external linkage, foreign remittance, fund management, e-combination, payment, nursing care/medical care/dispensing compensation receivable factoring, mortgage, and Internet and telephone banking services. In addition, the company offers staffing, money lending, guarantee, printing, leasing, and agency services. The company was incorporated in 1895 and is headquartered in Numazu, Japan.
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