Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) and Equitable Financial (OTCMKTS:EQFN) Critical Survey

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) and Equitable Financial (OTCMKTS:EQFN) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability and earnings.

Volatility & Risk

Wintrust Financial has a beta of 0.86, indicating that its stock price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Equitable Financial has a beta of 0.07, indicating that its stock price is 93% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Wintrust Financial and Equitable Financial”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Wintrust Financial	$4.23 billion	2.42	$823.84 million	$11.93	12.71
Equitable Financial	$33.95 million	1.24	$3.44 million	$1.34	12.69

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

Profitability

This table compares Wintrust Financial and Equitable Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Wintrust Financial	20.11%	13.15%	1.25%
Equitable Financial	9.70%	6.57%	0.64%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

93.5% of Wintrust Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 7.2% of Equitable Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 1.2% of Wintrust Financial shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 11.3% of Equitable Financial shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Wintrust Financial and Equitable Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Wintrust Financial	0	2	10	1	2.92
Equitable Financial	0	0	0	0	0.00

Wintrust Financial presently has a consensus target price of $168.92, suggesting a potential upside of 11.39%. Given Wintrust Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Wintrust Financial is more favorable than Equitable Financial.

Summary

Wintrust Financial beats Equitable Financial on 14 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Wintrust Financial

Wintrust Financial Corporation operates as a financial holding company. It operates in three segments: Community Banking, Specialty Finance, and Wealth Management. The Community Banking segment offers non-interest bearing deposits, non-brokered interest-bearing transaction accounts, and savings and domestic time deposits; home equity, consumer, and real estate loans; safe deposit facilities; and automatic teller machine (ATM), online and mobile banking, and other services. It also engages in the retail origination and purchase of residential mortgages; and provision of lending, deposits, and treasury management services to condominium, homeowner, and community associations, as well as asset-based lending for middle-market companies. In addition, this segment offers loan and deposit services to mortgage brokerage companies; lending to restaurant franchisees; direct leasing; small business administration loans; commercial mortgages and construction loans; and financial solutions. It provides personal and commercial banking services primarily to individuals, small to mid-sized businesses, local governmental units, and institutional clients. The Specialty Finance segment offers commercial and life insurance premiums financing for businesses and individuals; accounts receivable financing, value-added, and out-sourced administrative services; other specialty finance services; equipment financing through structured loan and lease products; and property and casualty premium financing; as well as data processing of payrolls, billing, and cash management services to temporary staffing industry. The Wealth Management segment provides wealth management services, such as trust and investment, asset management, tax-deferred exchange, securities brokerage, and retirement plan services. Wintrust Financial Corporation was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Rosemont, Illinois.

About Equitable Financial

Equitable Financial Corp. operates as the holding company for Equitable Bank that provides various banking products and services in Nebraska, the United States. The company offers checking and savings accounts; recorder checks; online and mobile banking; remote deposit capture; voice banking; credit card processing; debit and gift cards; and safe deposit boxes. It also provides home, home equity, auto, personal, real estate and construction, operating lines of credit, small business administration, and agricultural loans, as well as equipment financing. In addition, the company offers foreign currency and exchanges; financial planning; wealth management; investment advisory; and retirement services. It operates through branches located in Grand Island, North Platte, and Omaha. The company was founded in 1882 and is headquartered in Grand Island, Nebraska.