Comparing Equitable Financial (OTCMKTS:EQFN) & Farmers National Banc (NASDAQ:FMNB)

Equitable Financial (OTCMKTS:EQFN) and Farmers National Banc (NASDAQ:FMNB) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, risk, valuation, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Volatility & Risk

Equitable Financial has a beta of 0.08, indicating that its share price is 92% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Farmers National Banc has a beta of 0.85, indicating that its share price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Equitable Financial and Farmers National Banc’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Equitable Financial	9.70%	6.57%	0.64%
Farmers National Banc	19.50%	13.34%	1.14%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Equitable Financial and Farmers National Banc, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Equitable Financial	0	0	0	0	0.00
Farmers National Banc	1	2	1	0	2.00

Farmers National Banc has a consensus target price of $14.50, suggesting a potential upside of 9.22%. Given Farmers National Banc’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Farmers National Banc is more favorable than Equitable Financial.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

7.2% of Equitable Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 38.7% of Farmers National Banc shares are owned by institutional investors. 11.3% of Equitable Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.0% of Farmers National Banc shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Equitable Financial and Farmers National Banc”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Equitable Financial	$33.95 million	1.17	$3.44 million	$1.31	12.33
Farmers National Banc	$279.92 million	1.79	$54.59 million	$1.45	9.16

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

Summary

Farmers National Banc beats Equitable Financial on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Equitable Financial

Equitable Financial Corp. operates as the holding company for Equitable Bank that provides various banking products and services in Nebraska, the United States. The company offers checking and savings accounts; recorder checks; online and mobile banking; remote deposit capture; voice banking; credit card processing; debit and gift cards; and safe deposit boxes. It also provides home, home equity, auto, personal, real estate and construction, operating lines of credit, small business administration, and agricultural loans, as well as equipment financing. In addition, the company offers foreign currency and exchanges; financial planning; wealth management; investment advisory; and retirement services. It operates through branches located in Grand Island, North Platte, and Omaha. The company was founded in 1882 and is headquartered in Grand Island, Nebraska.

About Farmers National Banc

Farmers National Banc Corp. operates as a bank holding company for The Farmers National Bank of Canfield engages in the banking, trust, retirement consulting, insurance, and financial management businesses. It offers commercial and retail banking services, including checking, savings, and time deposit accounts; commercial, mortgage and installment, and home equity loans; home equity lines of credit, night depository, safe deposit box, money order, bank check, automated teller machine, Internet banking, travel card, E bond transaction, brokerage, and other services. The company also provides personal and corporate trust services in the areas of estate settlement, trust administration, employee benefit plans, and retirement services; property and casualty insurance products and services; and various insurance products through licensed representatives, as well as invests in municipal securities. The company was founded in 1887 and is headquartered in Canfield, Ohio.