Commercial National Financial (OTCMKTS:CNAF) & Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Head to Head Contrast

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) and Commercial National Financial (OTCMKTS:CNAF) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and dividends.

Dividends

Esquire Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.70 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Commercial National Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.7%. Esquire Financial pays out 12.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Commercial National Financial pays out 63.8% 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.

Profitability

This table compares Esquire Financial and Commercial National Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Esquire Financial	31.26%	19.08%	2.43%
Commercial National Financial	11.43%	N/A	N/A

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for Esquire Financial and Commercial National Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Esquire Financial	0	2	2	0	2.50
Commercial National Financial	0	0	0	0	0.00

Esquire Financial presently has a consensus price target of $113.00, suggesting a potential upside of 12.79%. Given Esquire Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Esquire Financial is more favorable than Commercial National Financial.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

54.7% of Esquire Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 3.5% of Commercial National Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 18.0% of Esquire Financial shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 22.4% of Commercial National Financial shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Esquire Financial and Commercial National Financial”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Esquire Financial	$140.22 million	6.12	$43.66 million	$5.70	17.58
Commercial National Financial	$17.37 million	1.27	$1.84 million	$0.69	11.16

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

Volatility and Risk

Esquire Financial has a beta of 0.53, meaning that its stock price is 47% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Commercial National Financial has a beta of 0.46, meaning that its stock price is 54% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Esquire Financial beats Commercial National Financial on 15 of the 17 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 Commercial National Financial

Commercial National Financial Corporation operates as a bank holding company for Commercial Bank & Trust of PA that provides various banking products and services in Pennsylvania. The company offers checking, money market investment, and savings accounts; and business-time deposits, as well as certificates of deposit. It also provides loan products, such as home-equity, personal lines of credit, personal, and automobile loans, as well as residential and construction mortgages; and commercial loans, term loans, and lines of credit. In addition, the company offers other services, including automatic teller machine access/debit card, online banking, mobile banking, and online bill payment services; and direct deposit/payroll processing and night depository services. Further, it provides asset management and trust services comprising trust and estate, investment management, and cash management services, as well as retirement products. The company operates a network of nine community offices with facilities in Greensburg, Hempfield Township, Latrobe, Ligonier, North Huntingdon, Unity Township, and West Newton. Commercial National Financial Corporation was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.