Reviewing Equitable Financial (EQFN) and Its Peers

Insider and Institutional Ownership

7.2% of Equitable Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 41.7% of shares of all “Federal savings institutions” companies are owned by institutional investors. 11.3% of Equitable Financial shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 9.6% of shares of all “Federal savings institutions” companies are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Equitable Financial and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Equitable Financial	8.66%	5.81%	0.54%
Equitable Financial Competitors	8.86%	5.18%	0.53%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Equitable Financial and its peers gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Equitable Financial	$31.33 million	$2.71 million	12.55
Equitable Financial Competitors	$1.65 billion	$303.01 million	3.92

Equitable Financial’s peers have higher revenue and earnings than Equitable Financial. Equitable Financial is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Risk and Volatility

Equitable Financial has a beta of 0.4, suggesting that its stock price is 60% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Equitable Financial’s peers have a beta of 0.29, suggesting that their average stock price is 71% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Equitable Financial beats its peers on 5 of the 9 factors compared.

Equitable Financial Company Profile

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.