Equity Bancshares (NASDAQ:EQBK) & Southside Bancshares (NASDAQ:SBSI) Head-To-Head Review

Equity Bancshares (NASDAQ:EQBK) and Southside Bancshares (NASDAQ:SBSI) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership and earnings.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Equity Bancshares and Southside Bancshares”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Equity Bancshares	$228.94 million	2.84	$62.62 million	$4.03	9.22
Southside Bancshares	$260.02 million	3.33	$88.49 million	$2.82	10.19

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

Profitability

This table compares Equity Bancshares and Southside Bancshares’ 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%
Southside Bancshares	19.40%	11.10%	1.06%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Equity Bancshares and Southside Bancshares, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Equity Bancshares	0	3	3	0	2.50
Southside Bancshares	0	3	0	0	2.00

Equity Bancshares presently has a consensus target price of $47.80, indicating a potential upside of 28.68%. Southside Bancshares has a consensus target price of $35.00, indicating a potential upside of 21.76%. Given Equity Bancshares’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Equity Bancshares is more favorable than Southside Bancshares.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

71.8% of Equity Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 55.7% of Southside Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. 6.6% of Equity Bancshares shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 6.0% of Southside Bancshares shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

Equity Bancshares has a beta of 0.85, suggesting that its share price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Southside Bancshares has a beta of 0.68, suggesting that its share price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Equity Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Southside Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $1.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.0%. Equity Bancshares pays out 14.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Southside Bancshares pays out 51.1% 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. Equity Bancshares has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years and Southside Bancshares has increased its dividend for 30 consecutive years. Southside Bancshares is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Equity Bancshares beats Southside Bancshares on 10 of the 17 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 Southside Bancshares

Southside Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Southside Bank that provides a range of financial services to individuals, businesses, municipal entities, and nonprofit organizations. Its deposit products include savings, money market, and interest and noninterest bearing checking accounts, as well as certificates of deposits. The company’s loan portfolio comprises consumer loans that include 1-4 family residential loans, home equity loans, home improvement loans, automobile loans, and other consumer related loans; commercial loans, such as short-term working capital loans for inventory and accounts receivable, short and medium-term loans for equipment or other business capital expansion, commercial real estate loans, and municipal loans; and construction loans for 1-4 family residential and commercial real estate. It also offers wealth management and trust services consisting of investment management, administration of irrevocable, revocable, and testamentary trusts, estate administration, and custodian services for individuals, partnerships, and corporations; safe deposit services; and brokerage services. In addition, the company provides retirement and employee benefit accounts, including plans and profit sharing plans; and telephone, internet, and mobile banking services. The company offers various banking services through branches, drive-thru facilities, automated teller machines, and interactive teller machines. Southside Bancshares, Inc. was founded in 1960 and is headquartered in Tyler, Texas.