Equity Bancshares (NASDAQ:EQBK – Get Free Report) and Colony Bankcorp (NASDAQ:CBAN – Get Free Report) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and risk.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Equity Bancshares and Colony Bankcorp”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Equity Bancshares | $192.21 million | 4.54 | $62.62 million | $1.20 | 38.13 |
| Colony Bankcorp | $126.05 million | 2.51 | $23.87 million | $1.59 | 11.40 |
Risk and Volatility
Equity Bancshares has a beta of 0.87, suggesting that its share price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Colony Bankcorp has a beta of 0.66, suggesting that its share price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Equity Bancshares and Colony Bankcorp, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Equity Bancshares | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2.50 |
| Colony Bankcorp | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.00 |
Equity Bancshares currently has a consensus target price of $50.40, suggesting a potential upside of 10.14%. Colony Bankcorp has a consensus target price of $21.00, suggesting a potential upside of 15.90%. Given Colony Bankcorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Colony Bankcorp is more favorable than Equity Bancshares.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
71.8% of Equity Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 50.4% of Colony Bankcorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.6% of Equity Bancshares shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.6% of Colony Bankcorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Profitability
This table compares Equity Bancshares and Colony Bankcorp’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% |
| Colony Bankcorp | 13.51% | 9.64% | 0.85% |
Dividends
Equity Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Colony Bankcorp pays an annual dividend of $0.46 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Equity Bancshares pays out 60.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Colony Bankcorp pays out 28.9% 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 Colony Bankcorp has increased its dividend for 7 consecutive years. Colony Bankcorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Summary
Equity Bancshares beats Colony Bankcorp on 9 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 Colony Bankcorp
Colony Bankcorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Colony Bank that provides various banking products and services to commercial and consumer customers. The company offers deposit products, including demand, savings, and time deposits. It also provides loans to small and medium-sized businesses; residential and commercial construction, and land development loans; commercial real estate loans; commercial loans; agri-business and production loans; residential mortgage loans; home equity loans; and consumer loans. In addition, the company offers internet banking services, electronic bill payment services, safe deposit box rentals, telephone banking, credit and debit card services, and remote depository products, as well as access to a network of ATMs. The company was founded in 1975 and is headquartered in Fitzgerald, Georgia.
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