Equity Bancshares (EQBK) Competitors

Equity Bancshares (NASDAQ:EQBK) and Park National (NYSE:PRK) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, media sentiment, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends, institutional ownership and profitability.

Which has more volatility and risk, EQBK or PRK?

Equity Bancshares has a beta of 0.78, suggesting that its share price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Park National has a beta of 0.82, suggesting that its share price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is EQBK or PRK more profitable?

Park National has a net margin of 23.46% compared to Equity Bancshares' net margin of 18.66%. Equity Bancshares' return on equity of 14.64% beat Park National's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Equity Bancshares	18.66%	14.64%	1.31%
Park National	23.46%	12.31%	1.50%

Do institutionals and insiders believe in EQBK or PRK?

71.8% of Equity Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 62.7% of Park National shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.6% of Equity Bancshares shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.7% of Park National shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Do analysts prefer EQBK or PRK?

Equity Bancshares currently has a consensus target price of $46.60, suggesting a potential upside of 14.22%. Park National has a consensus target price of $177.75, suggesting a potential upside of 6.27%. Given Equity Bancshares' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Equity Bancshares is more favorable than Park National.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Equity Bancshares	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50
Park National	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Does the media refer more to EQBK or PRK?

In the previous week, Park National had 25 more articles in the media than Equity Bancshares. MarketBeat recorded 34 mentions for Park National and 9 mentions for Equity Bancshares. Equity Bancshares' average media sentiment score of 0.42 beat Park National's score of -0.02 indicating that Equity Bancshares is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Equity Bancshares	1 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Park National	3 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	19 Neutral mention(s)	4 Negative mention(s)	4 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Which has better earnings and valuation, EQBK or PRK?

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

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Equity Bancshares	$225.03M	3.18	$62.62M	$3.93	10.38
Park National	$528.91M	5.12	$151.42M	$9.74	17.17

Is EQBK or PRK a better dividend stock?

Equity Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Park National pays an annual dividend of $4.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Equity Bancshares pays out 15.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Park National pays out 43.9% 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 raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years and Park National has raised its dividend for 8 consecutive years. Park National is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Park National beats Equity Bancshares on 11 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.