Equity Bancshares (NASDAQ:EQBK – Get Free Report) and Live Oak Bancshares (NASDAQ:LOB – Get Free Report) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, risk, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability and earnings.
Volatility and Risk
Equity Bancshares has a beta of 0.78, indicating that its share price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Live Oak Bancshares has a beta of 1.84, indicating that its share price is 84% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Equity Bancshares and Live Oak Bancshares”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Equity Bancshares | $225.03 million | 3.37 | $62.62 million | $3.93 | 11.03 |
| Live Oak Bancshares | $498.34 million | 2.95 | $77.47 million | $1.30 | 24.82 |
Live Oak Bancshares has higher revenue and earnings than Equity Bancshares. Equity Bancshares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Live Oak Bancshares, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
71.8% of Equity Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 64.0% of Live Oak Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.6% of Equity Bancshares shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 23.4% of Live Oak Bancshares shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Dividends
Equity Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Live Oak Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. Equity Bancshares pays out 15.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Live Oak Bancshares pays out 9.2% 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. Equity Bancshares has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years. Equity Bancshares is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Equity Bancshares and Live Oak Bancshares, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Equity Bancshares | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2.50 |
| Live Oak Bancshares | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2.33 |
Equity Bancshares presently has a consensus target price of $46.60, indicating a potential upside of 7.55%. Live Oak Bancshares has a consensus target price of $41.33, indicating a potential upside of 28.09%. Given Live Oak Bancshares’ higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Live Oak Bancshares is more favorable than Equity Bancshares.
Profitability
This table compares Equity Bancshares and Live Oak Bancshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Equity Bancshares | 18.66% | 14.64% | 1.31% |
| Live Oak Bancshares | 7.10% | 6.88% | 0.55% |
Summary
Equity Bancshares beats Live Oak Bancshares on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Equity Bancshares
Equity Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Equity Bank that provides a range of banking, mortgage banking, and financial services to individual and corporate customers. The company accepts various demand, savings, money market, and time deposits. Its loan products include commercial and industrial, commercial real estate, commercial lines of credit, working capital, term, equipment and aircraft financing, acquisition, expansion and development, borrowing base, real estate construction, homebuilder, agricultural, government guaranteed, and other loan products. The company's loan products also comprise 1 4 family residential mortgages, agriculture, consumer, residential real estate mortgage, and agricultural real estate and production loans. It also provides debit and credit cards; insurance brokerage; trust and wealth management; online banking solutions, such as access to account balances, online transfers, online bill payment, and electronic delivery of customer statements; mobile banking solutions comprising remote check deposits with mobile bill pay; ATMs; and treasury management, wire transfer, automated clearing house, and stop payment services. In addition, the company offers cash management deposit products, such as lockbox, remote deposit capture, positive pay, reverse positive pay, account reconciliation services, zero balance accounts, and sweep accounts, as well as banking services through telephone, mail, and personal appointments. It operates a network of branches in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. Equity Bancshares, Inc. was incorporated in 2002 and is headquartered in Wichita, Kansas.
About Live Oak Bancshares
Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Live Oak Banking Company that provides various banking products and services in the United States. It operates through two segments, Banking and Fintech. The company accepts various deposit products, including noninterest-bearing demand, as well as interest-bearing checking, money market, savings, and time deposits. It also offers commercial and industrial loans; construction and development loans; owner occupied and non-owner occupied collateral commercial real estate loans; and commercial land loans. In addition, the company provides settlement, accounting, and securitization services for government guaranteed loans; financing for renewable energy application industry; wealth and investment management services to high-net-worth individuals and families; and investment advisory services to a series of funds focused on providing venture capital to new and emerging financial technology companies. Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. was incorporated in 2008 and is headquartered in Wilmington, North Carolina.
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