Critical Survey: NSTS Bancorp (NASDAQ:NSTS) versus Equitable Financial (OTCMKTS:EQFN)

Valuation and Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Equitable Financial	$31.33 million	1.01	$2.71 million	N/A	N/A
NSTS Bancorp	$8.79 million	6.64	-$3.96 million	($0.16)	-69.47

Equitable Financial has higher revenue and earnings than NSTS Bancorp.

Risk & Volatility

Equitable Financial has a beta of 0.14, suggesting that its stock price is 86% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, NSTS Bancorp has a beta of 0.1, suggesting that its stock price is 90% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Equitable Financial	8.66%	5.81%	0.54%
NSTS Bancorp	-48.24%	-5.83%	-1.71%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

7.2% of Equitable Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 23.7% of NSTS Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 11.3% of Equitable Financial shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.6% of NSTS Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Equitable Financial beats NSTS Bancorp on 8 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About NSTS Bancorp

NSTS Bancorp, Inc. operates as a savings and loan holding company for North Shore Trust and Savings that provides banking products and services in Illinois. The company offers interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing checking, money market, savings, and time deposit accounts; and one- to four-family residential mortgage, multi-family and commercial real estate mortgage, construction, home equity, and consumer loans. It operates through full-service banking offices in Lake County, Illinois; and one loan production office in Chicago. The company was founded in 1921 and is headquartered in Waukegan, Illinois.