Contrasting Pathward Financial (NASDAQ:CASH) and Arrow Financial (NASDAQ:AROW)

Pathward Financial (NASDAQ:CASH) and Arrow Financial (NASDAQ:AROW) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation and risk.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Pathward Financial and Arrow Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Pathward Financial	0	1	1	0	2.50
Arrow Financial	0	2	0	0	2.00

Pathward Financial presently has a consensus price target of $90.50, suggesting a potential upside of 14.33%. Arrow Financial has a consensus price target of $32.00, suggesting a potential upside of 22.89%. Given Arrow Financial’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Arrow Financial is more favorable than Pathward Financial.

Risk and Volatility

Pathward Financial has a beta of 0.73, suggesting that its stock price is 27% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Arrow Financial has a beta of 0.76, suggesting that its stock price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Pathward Financial and Arrow Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Pathward Financial	21.91%	22.02%	2.28%
Arrow Financial	13.32%	8.59%	0.76%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

92.7% of Pathward Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 46.7% of Arrow Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 1.2% of Pathward Financial shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.6% of Arrow Financial shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Pathward Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.3%. Arrow Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. Pathward Financial pays out 2.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Arrow Financial pays out 63.3% 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.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Pathward Financial and Arrow Financial”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Pathward Financial	$775.94 million	2.46	$168.36 million	$6.86	11.54
Arrow Financial	$223.07 million	1.95	$29.71 million	$1.77	14.71

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

Summary

Pathward Financial beats Arrow Financial on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Pathward Financial

Pathward Financial, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Pathward, National Association that provides various banking products and services in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Consumer, Commercial, and Corporate Services/Other. It offers demand deposit accounts, savings accounts, and money market savings accounts. The company also provides commercial finance product comprising term lending, asset-based lending, factoring, lease financing, insurance premium finance, government guaranteed lending, and other commercial finance products; consumer credit products; other consumer financing services; tax services, which includes short-term refund advance loans and short-term electronic return originator advance loans; and warehouse financing services. In addition, it issues prepaid cards; and offers payment solutions, such as acceptance, processing, and settlement of credit card and debit card payments. The company was formerly known as Meta Financial Group, Inc. and changed its name to Pathward Financial, Inc. in July 2022. Pathward Financial, Inc. was founded in 1954 and is based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

About Arrow Financial

Arrow Financial Corporation, a bank holding company, provides commercial and consumer banking, and financial products and services. The company’s deposit products include demand deposits, interest-bearing checking accounts, savings deposits, time deposits, and other time deposits. Its lending activities comprise commercial loans, such as term loans, time notes, and lines of credit; and commercial real estate loans to finance real estate purchases, refinancing, expansions, and enhancement to commercial properties, as well as commercial construction and land development loans to finance projects. The company’s lending activities also include consumer installment loans to finance personal expenditures, personal lines of credit, overdraft protection, and automobile loans; and residential real estate loans, fixed home equity loans, and home equity lines of credit for consumers to finance home improvements, debt consolidation, education, and other uses. In addition, it maintains an indirect lending program. Further, the company provides retirement planning, trust, and estate administration services for individuals, as well as pension, profit-sharing, and employee benefit plan administration services for corporations. Additionally, it offers insurance agency services comprising group health care policies and life insurance, and property and casualty insurance products; and investment advisory services to its proprietary mutual funds, as well as holds a real estate investment trust. It operates in the northeastern region of New York State in Warren, Washington, Saratoga, Essex, Clinton, Rensselaer, Albany, and Schenectady counties. Arrow Financial Corporation was founded in 1851 and is headquartered in Glens Falls, New York.