Comparing Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) & Equitable Financial (OTCMKTS:EQFN)

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) and Equitable Financial (OTCMKTS:EQFN) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, valuation and dividends.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

60.7% of Peoples Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 7.2% of Equitable Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.4% of Peoples Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 11.3% of Equitable Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Peoples Bancorp and Equitable Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Peoples Bancorp	0	3	2	0	2.40
Equitable Financial	0	0	0	0	0.00

Peoples Bancorp currently has a consensus target price of $35.25, suggesting a potential upside of 16.30%. Given Peoples Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Peoples Bancorp is more favorable than Equitable Financial.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Peoples Bancorp and Equitable Financial”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Peoples Bancorp	$620.14 million	1.74	$117.21 million	$2.92	10.38
Equitable Financial	$31.33 million	1.18	$2.71 million	N/A	N/A

Peoples Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Equitable Financial.

Profitability

This table compares Peoples Bancorp and Equitable Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Peoples Bancorp	16.88%	9.46%	1.15%
Equitable Financial	9.82%	10.12%	0.97%

Volatility and Risk

Peoples Bancorp has a beta of 0.67, indicating that its stock price is 33% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Equitable Financial has a beta of 0.1, indicating that its stock price is 90% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Peoples Bancorp beats Equitable Financial on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Peoples Bancorp

Peoples Bancorp Inc. operates as the holding company for Peoples Bank that provides commercial and consumer banking products and services. The company accepts various deposit products, including demand deposit accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, and governmental deposits; and provides commercial and industrial, commercial real estate, construction, finance, residential real estate, and consumer indirect and direct loans, as well as home equity lines of credit and overdrafts. It also offers debit and automated teller machine (ATM) cards; safe deposit rental facilities; money orders and cashier’s checks; and telephone, mobile, and online banking services. In addition, the company provides various life, health, and property and casualty insurance products; third-party insurance administration; interactive teller machines; insurance premium financing; check deposit and alert notification; commercial and technology equipment leasing; fiduciary and trust; underwriting, origination, and servicing of equipment leases, and equipment financing agreements; and asset management and administration services, as well as employee benefit, retirement, and health care plan administration services. Further, it offers brokerage services through an unaffiliated registered broker-dealers; insurance premium finance lending and leasing; and credit cards to individuals and businesses, as well as provides merchant credit card transaction processing, and person-to-person payment processing services. Peoples Bancorp Inc. was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Marietta, Ohio.

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.