Comparing Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) and First Resource Bancorp (OTCMKTS:FRSB)

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) and First Resource Bancorp (OTCMKTS:FRSB) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, profitability, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Dividends

Esquire Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. First Resource Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. Esquire Financial pays out 13.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Resource Bancorp pays out 2.7% 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. Esquire Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Esquire Financial and First Resource Bancorp”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Esquire Financial	$164.50 million	5.76	$50.82 million	$5.95	18.45
First Resource Bancorp	$44.33 million	1.52	$8.16 million	$2.98	7.52

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

Profitability

This table compares Esquire Financial and First Resource Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Esquire Financial	29.96%	18.30%	2.30%
First Resource Bancorp	19.11%	N/A	N/A

Institutional & Insider Ownership

54.7% of Esquire Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 18.0% of Esquire Financial shares are owned by company 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.

Risk and Volatility

Esquire Financial has a beta of 0.39, suggesting that its share price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Resource Bancorp has a beta of 0.09, suggesting that its share price is 91% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Esquire Financial and First Resource Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Esquire Financial	0	1	2	1	3.00
First Resource Bancorp	0	0	0	0	0.00

Esquire Financial presently has a consensus price target of $120.33, suggesting a potential upside of 9.63%. Given Esquire Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Esquire Financial is more favorable than First Resource Bancorp.

Summary

Esquire Financial beats First Resource Bancorp on 17 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About First Resource Bancorp

First Resource Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding for First Resource Bank that provides personal and business banking products and services to businesses and families primarily in the southeastern area of Pennsylvania. The company's offers savings, checking, and money market accounts, as well as certificate deposit account registry services, insured cash sweeps, certificates of deposit, and IRAs. Its loan products include commercial mortgages, construction loans, working capital credit lines, small business administration loans, commercial term loans, home equity lines of credit, fixed payment home equity loans, residential construction loans, land loans, overdraft protection, vehicle loans, unsecured installment loans, certificate of deposit secured installment loans, and swing loans. The company also provides personal financial statements; credit and debit cards; digital banking services; and cash management, positive pay, ACH origination, sweep/transfer of funds, ATM, over the counter checks, bill payment, wire transfer, signature guarantee/notary, safe deposit box, drive-up banking, night depository, foreign currency exchange, cashier's check, e-statements, and stop payments, as well as telephone, messaging and text, online, and mobile banking services. First Resource Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 2005 and is based in Exton, Pennsylvania.