Comparing Carter Bankshares (NASDAQ:CARE) and Flagstar Bank, National Association (NYSE:FLG)

Flagstar Bank, National Association (NYSE:FLG) and Carter Bankshares (NASDAQ:CARE) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, profitability, risk, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Flagstar Bank, National Association and Carter Bankshares, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Flagstar Bank, National Association	2	5	5	0	2.25
Carter Bankshares	0	2	1	1	2.75

Flagstar Bank, National Association currently has a consensus price target of $14.32, indicating a potential upside of 8.31%. Carter Bankshares has a consensus price target of $22.00, indicating a potential upside of 2.76%. Given Flagstar Bank, National Association’s higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Flagstar Bank, National Association is more favorable than Carter Bankshares.

Risk & Volatility

Flagstar Bank, National Association has a beta of 1.09, suggesting that its stock price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Carter Bankshares has a beta of 0.59, suggesting that its stock price is 41% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Flagstar Bank, National Association and Carter Bankshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Flagstar Bank, National Association	-7.06%	-3.80%	-0.30%
Carter Bankshares	12.32%	7.70%	0.66%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Flagstar Bank, National Association and Carter Bankshares”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Flagstar Bank, National Association	$6.35 billion	0.87	-$1.12 billion	($0.97)	-13.63
Carter Bankshares	$254.63 million	1.86	$24.27 million	$1.38	15.51

Carter Bankshares has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Flagstar Bank, National Association. Flagstar Bank, National Association is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Carter Bankshares, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

67.9% of Flagstar Bank, National Association shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 41.5% of Carter Bankshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 19.4% of Flagstar Bank, National Association shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.2% of Carter Bankshares 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.

Summary

Carter Bankshares beats Flagstar Bank, National Association on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Flagstar Bank, National Association

Flagstar Financial, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Flagstar Bank, N.A. that provides banking products and services in the United States. The company’s deposit products include interest-bearing checking and money market, savings, non-interest-bearing, and retirement accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. Its loan products comprise multi-family loans; commercial real estate loans; acquisition, development, and construction loans; commercial and industrial loans; one-to-four family loans; specialty finance loans and leases; warehouse loans; and other loans, such as home equity lines of credit, boat and recreational vehicle indirect lending, point of sale consumer loans, and other consumer loans, including overdraft loans. The company offers cash management products; non-deposit investment and insurance products; and online banking, mobile banking, and bank-by-phone services. It primarily serves individuals, small and mid-size businesses, and professional associations. The company was formerly known as New York Community Bancorp, Inc. and changed its name to Flagstar Financial, Inc. in October 2024. Flagstar Financial, Inc. was founded in 1859 and is headquartered in Hicksville, New York.

About Carter Bankshares

Carter Bankshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Carter Bank & Trust that provides various banking products and services in the United States. It accepts various deposit products, including checking, savings, retirement, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposits. The company also offers commercial loans comprising secured and unsecured loans; consumer loans, such as secured and unsecured loans for financing automobiles, home improvements, education, overdraft protection, and personal investments, as well as residential mortgages; real estate construction, acquisition, commercial, and industrial loans; home equity lines of credit; and credit cards, as well as originates and holds fixed and variable rate mortgage loans. In addition, it provides other banking services that include safe deposit boxes, direct deposit of payroll, and social security checks; online banking products, including online and mobile banking, online account opening, bill pay, e-statement, mobile deposit, digital wallet, and ATM services; title insurance and other financial institution-related products and services; and treasury and corporate cash management services. Carter Bankshares, Inc. was founded in 1974 and is headquartered in Martinsville, Virginia.