Pathward Financial (NASDAQ:CASH) versus Customers Bancorp (NYSE:CUBI) Head-To-Head Contrast

Customers Bancorp (NYSE:CUBI) and Pathward Financial (NASDAQ:CASH) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation and profitability.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for Customers Bancorp and Pathward Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Customers Bancorp	1	4	6	1	2.58
Pathward Financial	0	0	3	0	3.00

Customers Bancorp presently has a consensus price target of $94.36, indicating a potential upside of 10.98%. Pathward Financial has a consensus price target of $101.00, indicating a potential upside of 34.29%. Given Pathward Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Pathward Financial is more favorable than Customers Bancorp.

Volatility & Risk

Customers Bancorp has a beta of 1.43, indicating that its share price is 43% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Pathward Financial has a beta of 0.64, indicating that its share price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

89.3% of Customers Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.7% of Pathward Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 10.4% of Customers Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of Pathward Financial shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Customers Bancorp	19.11%	13.73%	1.14%
Pathward Financial	21.11%	20.82%	2.40%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Customers Bancorp and Pathward Financial”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Customers Bancorp	$913.93 million	3.10	$224.09 million	$8.25	10.31
Pathward Financial	$832.16 million	1.88	$175.67 million	$8.14	9.24

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

Summary

Customers Bancorp beats Pathward Financial on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Customers Bancorp

Customers Bancorp, Inc. is a bank holding company and the parent of Customers Bank, a commercial bank headquartered in West Reading, Pennsylvania. Founded in 2009, the company provides banking services to businesses, professionals and individuals. Customers Bank offers commercial and consumer deposit accounts, payment and cash-management services, and lending. Its business lending includes financing for commercial real estate, equipment, healthcare, and small businesses, along with banking services for venture-backed companies.

About Pathward Financial

Pathward Financial, Inc. is a financial services holding company whose principal subsidiary is Pathward, National Association. Formerly known as Meta Financial Group, the company adopted the Pathward name in 2022; its bank subsidiary was also renamed as part of the rebranding. Pathward provides banking, payments and specialty finance services to consumers and businesses across the United States. Its offerings include deposit accounts, prepaid and payment solutions, and services that support tax refund disbursements.