Contrasting Equitable Financial (OTCMKTS:EQFN) and MidWestOne Financial Group (NASDAQ:MOFG)

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
MidWestOne Financial Group	16.66%	10.35%	0.96%
Equitable Financial	9.70%	6.57%	0.64%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for MidWestOne Financial Group and Equitable Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
MidWestOne Financial Group	0	5	1	0	2.17
Equitable Financial	0	0	0	0	0.00

MidWestOne Financial Group currently has a consensus target price of $38.17, indicating a potential downside of 4.54%. Given MidWestOne Financial Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe MidWestOne Financial Group is more favorable than Equitable Financial.

Risk & Volatility

MidWestOne Financial Group has a beta of 1.1, meaning that its share price is 10% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Equitable Financial has a beta of 0.14, meaning that its share price is 86% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

65.4% of MidWestOne Financial Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 7.2% of Equitable Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.5% of MidWestOne Financial Group 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.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares MidWestOne Financial Group and Equitable Financial”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
MidWestOne Financial Group	$238.84 million	3.45	-$60.29 million	$2.81	14.23
Equitable Financial	$33.95 million	1.13	$3.44 million	$1.31	11.87

Equitable Financial has lower revenue, but higher earnings than MidWestOne Financial Group. Equitable Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than MidWestOne Financial Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

MidWestOne Financial Group beats Equitable Financial on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About MidWestOne Financial Group

MidWestOne Financial Group, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for MidWestOne Bank that provides commercial and retail banking products and services to individuals, businesses, governmental units, and institutional customers. It offers range of deposit products, including noninterest bearing and interest bearing demand deposits, savings, money market, and time deposits accounts. The company also provides commercial, real estate, agricultural, credit card, and consumer loans; and financing arrangements, such as brokered deposits, term debt, subordinated debt, and equity. In addition, it offers trust and investment services comprising administering estates, trusts, and conservatorships; property and farm management, investment advisory, retail securities brokerage, financial planning, and custodial services; and licensed brokers services. Further, the company provides online and mobile banking, debit cards, automated teller machines, and safe deposit boxes. MidWestOne Financial Group, Inc. was founded in 1934 and is headquartered in Iowa City, Iowa.

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.