Reviewing Equitable Financial (OTCMKTS:EQFN) and Frederick County Bancorp (MD) (OTCMKTS:FCBI)

Frederick County Bancorp (MD) (OTCMKTS:FCBI) and Equitable Financial (OTCMKTS:EQFN) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, valuation, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Frederick County Bancorp (MD) and Equitable Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Frederick County Bancorp (MD)	0	0	0	0	N/A
Equitable Financial	0	0	0	0	N/A

Risk & Volatility

Frederick County Bancorp (MD) has a beta of 0.34, suggesting that its stock price is 66% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Equitable Financial has a beta of 0.4, suggesting that its stock price is 60% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Frederick County Bancorp (MD) and Equitable Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Frederick County Bancorp (MD)	11.41%	N/A	N/A
Equitable Financial	N/A	6.88%	0.64%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Frederick County Bancorp (MD) and Equitable Financial’s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Frederick County Bancorp (MD)	$18.62 million	3.11	$2.96 million	N/A	N/A
Equitable Financial	$26.12 million	1.31	$3.59 million	N/A	N/A

Equitable Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Frederick County Bancorp (MD).

Insider & Institutional Ownership

7.2% of Equitable Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 32.2% of Frederick County Bancorp (MD) 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 hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Equitable Financial beats Frederick County Bancorp (MD) on 6 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Frederick County Bancorp (MD)

Frederick County Bancorp, Inc. operates as the holding company for Frederick County Bank that provides various banking services to individuals and commercial enterprises in the Frederick County, Maryland. It offers deposit products, including personal checking accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, individual retirement accounts, and health savings accounts; and business checking accounts, savings and money market accounts, and certificates of deposits. The company provides home equity, home equity fixed rate, mortgage, installment, vehicle, and unsecured loans, as well as home equity line of credit and lines of credit; and commercial loans, such as term loans, lines of credit, letters of credit, and real estate finance. It also offers cash management services comprising automated clearing house, wire origination, remote deposit capture, and zero balance account services. In addition, the company provides mobile deposit capture, overdraft protection, debit and credit card, automated teller machine, and night depository services; and business courier and merchant processing services, as well as online banking and bill pay services. The company was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Frederick, Maryland.

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.