Head to Head Survey: Pathward Financial (NASDAQ:CASH) vs. Burke & Herbert Financial Services (NASDAQ:BHRB)

Burke & Herbert Financial Services (NASDAQ:BHRB) and Pathward Financial (NASDAQ:CASH) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Burke & Herbert Financial Services and Pathward Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Burke & Herbert Financial Services	6.55%	12.83%	1.14%
Pathward Financial	21.65%	21.86%	2.21%

Dividends

Burke & Herbert Financial Services pays an annual dividend of $2.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Pathward Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.2%. Burke & Herbert Financial Services pays out 28.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Pathward Financial pays out 3.0% 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.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Burke & Herbert Financial Services and Pathward Financial”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Burke & Herbert Financial Services	$164.85 million	6.37	$22.69 million	$7.69	9.12
Pathward Financial	$775.94 million	2.63	$168.36 million	$6.63	12.76

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

92.7% of Pathward Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 9.7% of Burke & Herbert Financial Services shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of Pathward Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Burke & Herbert Financial Services and Pathward Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Burke & Herbert Financial Services	0	1	1	0	2.50
Pathward Financial	0	1	1	0	2.50

Burke & Herbert Financial Services currently has a consensus target price of $77.50, suggesting a potential upside of 10.56%. Pathward Financial has a consensus target price of $86.00, suggesting a potential upside of 1.65%. Given Burke & Herbert Financial Services’ higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Burke & Herbert Financial Services is more favorable than Pathward Financial.

Summary

Pathward Financial beats Burke & Herbert Financial Services on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Burke & Herbert Financial Services

Burke & Herbert Financial Services Corp. operates as the bank holding company for Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Company that provides various community banking products and services in Virginia and Maryland. It offers consumer and commercial deposit products, such as digital banking, demand, negotiable order of withdrawal, money market, and savings accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company also provides loans, such as commercial real estate, single family residential, owner-occupied commercial real estate, residential mortgage, acquisition, construction and development, commercial and industrial, and consumer non-real estate and other loans. In addition, it offers treasury and cash management services; and online and mobile banking, and wealth and trust services. The company was founded in 1852 and is headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia.

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.