Head-To-Head Survey: Princeton Bancorp (NASDAQ:BPRN) and Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ)

Princeton Bancorp (NASDAQ:BPRN) and Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, dividends, institutional ownership and earnings.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Princeton Bancorp	13.39%	6.93%	0.82%
Esquire Financial	30.90%	18.28%	2.31%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

43.4% of Princeton Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 54.7% of Esquire Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 23.1% of Princeton Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 18.0% of Esquire Financial 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.

Volatility and Risk

Princeton Bancorp has a beta of 0.49, suggesting that its share price is 51% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Esquire Financial has a beta of 0.45, suggesting that its share price is 55% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Princeton Bancorp and Esquire Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Princeton Bancorp	0	2	1	1	2.75
Esquire Financial	0	1	2	1	3.00

Princeton Bancorp currently has a consensus price target of $37.50, indicating a potential upside of 6.32%. Esquire Financial has a consensus price target of $120.33, indicating a potential upside of 4.50%. Given Princeton Bancorp’s higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Princeton Bancorp is more favorable than Esquire Financial.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Princeton Bancorp and Esquire Financial”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Princeton Bancorp	$139.02 million	1.72	$18.61 million	$2.72	12.97
Esquire Financial	$164.50 million	6.05	$50.82 million	$5.88	19.58

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

Dividends

Princeton Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. Esquire Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Princeton Bancorp pays out 51.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Esquire Financial pays out 13.6% 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. Esquire Financial has increased its dividend for 4 consecutive years.

Summary

Esquire Financial beats Princeton Bancorp on 13 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Princeton Bancorp

Princeton Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for The Bank of Princeton that provides various banking products and services. It accepts various deposit products, including checking, savings, attorney trust, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company also offers traditional retail banking services, one-to-four-family residential mortgage loans, multi-family and commercial mortgage loans, construction loans, and commercial business loans, as well as consumer loans, including home equity loans and lines of credit. In addition, it provides debit and credit cards, and money orders, direct deposit, automated teller machines, cashier's checks, safe deposit boxes, online banking, wire transfers, night depository, remote deposit capture, bank-by-mail, online, and automated telephone banking services, as well as payroll-related services and merchant credit card processing services. Further, the company offers full on-line statements, on-line bill payment, account inquiries, mobile banking, transaction histories and details, and account-to-account transfer services. Princeton Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey.

About Esquire Financial

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Esquire Bank, National Association that provides commercial banking products and services to legal industry and small businesses, and commercial and retail customers in the United States. The company offers checking, savings, money market, and time deposits, as well as certificates of deposit. It also provides commercial loans, such as short-term financing for inventory, receivables, the purchase of supplies, or other operating needs arising during the normal course of business, as well as loans to its qualified ISO customers; commercial lines of credit; consumer loans consisting of post-settlement consumer and structured settlement loans to plaintiffs and claimants, as well as loans to individuals for debt consolidation, medical expenses, living expenses, payment of outstanding bills, or other consumer needs; and real estate loans, such as multifamily, 1-4 family residential, commercial real estate, and construction loans, as well as merchant services. In addition, it offers cash management, cash sweep, online and mobile banking, individual retirement accounts, and working capital lines of credit. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Jericho, New York.