Critical Analysis: U.S.A Bank (OTCMKTS:USBK) vs. Equity Bancshares (NASDAQ:EQBK)

Equity Bancshares (NASDAQ:EQBK) and U.S.A Bank (OTCMKTS:USBK) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares Equity Bancshares and U.S.A Bank’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Equity Bancshares	18.66%	14.64%	1.31%
U.S.A Bank	N/A	N/A	N/A

Insider & Institutional Ownership

71.8% of Equity Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. 8.0% of Equity Bancshares shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk & Volatility

Equity Bancshares has a beta of 0.91, meaning that its stock price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, U.S.A Bank has a beta of -24.99, meaning that its stock price is 2,599% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Equity Bancshares and U.S.A Bank”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Equity Bancshares	$335.67 million	2.02	$62.62 million	$3.98	11.12
U.S.A Bank	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Equity Bancshares has higher revenue and earnings than U.S.A Bank.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Equity Bancshares and U.S.A Bank, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Equity Bancshares	0	2	3	0	2.60
U.S.A Bank	0	0	0	0	0.00

Equity Bancshares currently has a consensus price target of $48.00, suggesting a potential upside of 8.46%. Given Equity Bancshares’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Equity Bancshares is more favorable than U.S.A Bank.

Summary

Equity Bancshares beats U.S.A Bank on 10 of the 10 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 U.S.A Bank

As of July 10, 2010, U.S.A Bank was acquired by Customers Bank (Phoenixville, Pennsylvania). U.S.A Bank operates as a community bank in New York. It offers deposit products, Internet banking, ATM cards, consumer loans, and residential and commercial loans. U.S.A Bank was founded in 2005 and is based in Port Chester, New York.