Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG – Get Free Report) and Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ – Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, valuation, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Citizens Financial Group and Esquire Financial”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Citizens Financial Group | $12.06 billion | 2.35 | $1.83 billion | $4.23 | 15.87 |
| Esquire Financial | $164.50 million | 5.96 | $50.82 million | $5.95 | 19.08 |
Institutional & Insider Ownership
94.9% of Citizens Financial Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 54.7% of Esquire Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.7% of Citizens Financial Group shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 13.9% of Esquire Financial shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Profitability
This table compares Citizens Financial Group and Esquire Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Citizens Financial Group | 16.21% | 8.31% | 0.88% |
| Esquire Financial | 29.96% | 18.30% | 2.30% |
Dividends
Citizens Financial Group pays an annual dividend of $1.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Esquire Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Citizens Financial Group pays out 43.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Esquire Financial pays out 13.4% 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 raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years.
Volatility and Risk
Citizens Financial Group has a beta of 0.68, meaning that its share price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Esquire Financial has a beta of 0.39, meaning that its share price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Citizens Financial Group and Esquire Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Citizens Financial Group | 0 | 2 | 18 | 0 | 2.90 |
| Esquire Financial | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3.00 |
Citizens Financial Group currently has a consensus price target of $70.88, indicating a potential upside of 5.61%. Esquire Financial has a consensus price target of $120.33, indicating a potential upside of 5.99%. Given Esquire Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Esquire Financial is more favorable than Citizens Financial Group.
Summary
Esquire Financial beats Citizens Financial Group on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Citizens Financial Group
Citizens Financial Group, Inc. operates as the bank holding company that provides retail and commercial banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, corporations, and institutions in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Consumer Banking and Commercial Banking. The Consumer Banking segment offers deposit products, mortgage and home equity lending products, credit cards, business loans, wealth management, and investment services; and auto, education, and point-of-sale finance loans, as well as digital deposit products. This segment serves its customers through telephone service centers, as well as through its online and mobile platforms. The Commercial Banking segment provides various financial products and solutions, including lending and leasing, deposit and treasury management services, foreign exchange, and interest rate and commodity risk management solutions, as well as syndicated loans, corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, and debt and equity capital markets services. This segment serves corporate banking, healthcare, technology, asset finance, franchise finance, leasing, asset-based lending, commercial real estate, mid-corporate, and private equity sponsor industries. The company was formerly known as RBS Citizens Financial Group, Inc. and changed its name to Citizens Financial Group, Inc. in April 2014. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. was founded in 1828 and is headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island.
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.
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