Equity Bancshares (EQBK) Competitors

First Hawaiian (NASDAQ:FHB) and Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK) are both banking companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, risk, media sentiment, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Is FHB or EQBK more profitable?

First Hawaiian has a net margin of 21.45% compared to Equity Bancshares' net margin of 19.99%. Equity Bancshares' return on equity of 12.17% beat First Hawaiian's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Hawaiian	21.45%	9.29%	1.04%
Equity Bancshares	19.99%	12.17%	1.33%

Does the media refer more to FHB or EQBK?

In the previous week, First Hawaiian had 4 more articles in the media than Equity Bancshares. MarketBeat recorded 6 mentions for First Hawaiian and 2 mentions for Equity Bancshares. First Hawaiian's average media sentiment score of 1.19 beat Equity Bancshares' score of 0.25 indicating that First Hawaiian is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
First Hawaiian	5 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Equity Bancshares	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Do analysts recommend FHB or EQBK?

First Hawaiian presently has a consensus target price of $27.07, suggesting a potential upside of 5.87%. Given First Hawaiian's higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe First Hawaiian is more favorable than Equity Bancshares.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Hawaiian	4 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	1.43
Equity Bancshares	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	4.00

Which has stronger earnings & valuation, FHB or EQBK?

First Hawaiian has higher revenue and earnings than Equity Bancshares. Equity Bancshares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than First Hawaiian, 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
First Hawaiian	$1.17B	2.73	$230.13M	$1.94	13.18
Equity Bancshares	$228.94M	3.50	$62.62M	$4.03	10.34

Is FHB or EQBK a better dividend stock?

First Hawaiian pays an annual dividend of $1.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. Equity Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. First Hawaiian pays out 53.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Equity Bancshares pays out 14.9% 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.

Do insiders & institutionals believe in FHB or EQBK?

97.6% of First Hawaiian shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 71.8% of Equity Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. 0.6% of First Hawaiian shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.6% of Equity Bancshares shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Which has more risk and volatility, FHB or EQBK?

First Hawaiian has a beta of 0.89, suggesting that its share price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Equity Bancshares has a beta of 0.83, suggesting that its share price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

First Hawaiian beats Equity Bancshares on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.