Reviewing Union Bankshares (NASDAQ:UNB) & Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ)

Union Bankshares (NASDAQ:UNB) and Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, risk, profitability and institutional ownership.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Union Bankshares	11.17%	13.14%	0.61%
Esquire Financial	31.26%	19.08%	2.43%

Volatility and Risk

Union Bankshares has a beta of 0.55, meaning that its stock price is 45% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Esquire Financial has a beta of 0.53, meaning that its stock price is 47% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Union Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $1.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.8%. Esquire Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.70 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Union Bankshares pays out 70.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Esquire Financial pays out 12.3% 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.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Union Bankshares and Esquire Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Union Bankshares	0	1	0	0	2.00
Esquire Financial	0	2	2	0	2.50

Esquire Financial has a consensus price target of $100.50, indicating a potential downside of 2.08%. Given Esquire Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Esquire Financial is more favorable than Union Bankshares.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

14.8% of Union Bankshares shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 54.7% of Esquire Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of Union Bankshares shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 18.0% of Esquire Financial shares are held by 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.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Union Bankshares and Esquire Financial”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Union Bankshares	$77.68 million	1.45	$8.76 million	$2.04	12.14
Esquire Financial	$138.27 million	6.34	$43.66 million	$5.70	18.01

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

Summary

Esquire Financial beats Union Bankshares on 15 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Union Bankshares

Union Bankshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Union Bank that provides retail, commercial, and municipal banking products and services in northern Vermont and New Hampshire. It offers retail depository services, such as personal checking, savings, money market, IRA/SEP/KEOGH, and health savings accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company also provides commercial real estate loans; commercial loans for plant and equipment, working capital, real estate renovation, and other business purposes to business owners and investors; small business administration guaranteed loans; residential construction and mortgage loans; municipal financing, including loans and excess deposits secured by FHLBB letters of credit; and home improvement loans and overdraft checking privileges against preauthorized lines of credit. In addition, it offers online cash management services, including account reconciliation, credit card depository, automated clearing house origination, wire transfers, positive pay and night depository services; merchant credit card services for the deposit and immediate credit of sales drafts; remote deposit capture services; and online mortgage application and consumer deposit account opening services. Further, the company provides business checking accounts; standby letters of credit, bank checks or money orders, and safe deposit boxes; ATM cards and services; debit cards; telephone, internet, and mobile banking services, including bill pay; and wealth management, fiduciary, and trust services. It offers retail banking services to individuals; and commercial banking services to small and medium sized business corporations, limited liability companies, partnerships, and sole proprietorships, as well as nonprofit organizations, local municipalities, and school districts. Union Bankshares, Inc. was founded in 1891 and is headquartered in Morrisville, Vermont.

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.