Equity Bancshares (NASDAQ:EQBK) and C&F Financial (NASDAQ:CFFI) Financial Survey

Equity Bancshares (NASDAQ:EQBK) and C&F Financial (NASDAQ:CFFI) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, risk and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Equity Bancshares and C&F Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Equity Bancshares	3.75%	12.57%	1.10%
C&F Financial	12.16%	9.13%	0.79%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

71.8% of Equity Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 37.2% of C&F Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 8.0% of Equity Bancshares shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.3% of C&F Financial shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Equity Bancshares has a beta of 0.9, meaning that its stock price is 10% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, C&F Financial has a beta of 0.39, meaning that its stock price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Equity Bancshares and C&F Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Equity Bancshares	0	3	1	0	2.25
C&F Financial	0	0	0	0	N/A

Equity Bancshares presently has a consensus target price of $39.00, suggesting a potential downside of 5.22%. Given Equity Bancshares’ higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Equity Bancshares is more favorable than C&F Financial.

Dividends

Equity Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. C&F Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Equity Bancshares pays out 80.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. C&F Financial pays out 29.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. C&F Financial has increased its dividend for 12 consecutive years. C&F Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Equity Bancshares and C&F Financial’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Equity Bancshares	$227.58 million	2.76	$7.82 million	$0.60	68.58
C&F Financial	$153.75 million	1.27	$23.60 million	$6.06	9.56

C&F Financial has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Equity Bancshares. C&F Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Equity Bancshares, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Equity Bancshares beats C&F Financial on 10 of the 16 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 C&F Financial

C&F Financial Corporation operates as a bank holding company for Citizens and Farmers Bank that provides banking services to individuals and businesses. It operates through three segments: Community Banking, Mortgage Banking, and Consumer Finance. The Community Banking segment offers various banking services, including checking and savings deposit accounts, as well as business, real estate, development, mortgage, home equity, and installment loans. This segment also provides ATMs, Internet and mobile banking, peer-to-peer payment capabilities, and debit cards, as well as safe deposit box rentals, notary public, electronic transfer, and other customary bank services. The Mortgage Banking segment provides various residential mortgage loans; originates conventional mortgage loans, mortgage loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration, and mortgage loans guaranteed by the United States Department of Agriculture and the Veterans Administration; and ancillary mortgage loan production services to third parties for residential appraisals, as well as various mortgage origination activities. The Consumer Finance segment provides automobile loans. It also offers brokerage and wealth management services, and insurance products and services, as well as title and settlement agency. C&F Financial Corporation was founded in 1927 and is headquartered in Toano, Virginia.