Reviewing Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) and Westbury Bancorp (OTCMKTS:WBBW)

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) and Westbury Bancorp (OTCMKTS:WBBW) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and valuation.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Esquire Financial and Westbury Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Esquire Financial	0	1	2	1	3.00
Westbury Bancorp	0	0	0	0	0.00

Esquire Financial presently has a consensus target price of $120.33, suggesting a potential upside of 9.63%. Given Esquire Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Esquire Financial is more favorable than Westbury Bancorp.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Esquire Financial	29.96%	18.30%	2.30%
Westbury Bancorp	N/A	N/A	N/A

Risk and Volatility

Esquire Financial has a beta of 0.39, suggesting that its share price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Westbury Bancorp has a beta of -0.2, suggesting that its share price is 120% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Esquire Financial and Westbury Bancorp”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Esquire Financial	$164.50 million	5.76	$50.82 million	$5.95	18.45
Westbury Bancorp	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Esquire Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Westbury Bancorp.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

54.7% of Esquire Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.3% of Westbury Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 18.0% of Esquire Financial shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 10.9% of Westbury Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Esquire Financial beats Westbury Bancorp on 11 of the 11 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 Westbury Bancorp

Westbury Bancorp, Inc. operates as a holding company for Westbury Bank that provides various community banking and financial products and services for individuals, families, and businesses in the United States. The company offers checking and savings accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, and term certificate accounts; personal, mortgage, one-to four-family residential real estate, multi-family, commercial business, loans, commercial real estate loans, and construction loans; credit cards; and online and mobile banking services. Westbury Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1926 and is headquartered in Waukesha, Wisconsin.