Enterprise Financial Services (NASDAQ:EFSC) versus National Bankshares (NASDAQ:NKSH) Head-To-Head Survey

Enterprise Financial Services (NASDAQ:EFSC) and National Bankshares (NASDAQ:NKSH) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, dividends, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Volatility & Risk

Enterprise Financial Services has a beta of 0.82, suggesting that its share price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, National Bankshares has a beta of 0.6, suggesting that its share price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Enterprise Financial Services and National Bankshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Enterprise Financial Services	18.72%	9.70%	1.11%
National Bankshares	23.22%	10.66%	1.09%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Enterprise Financial Services and National Bankshares, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Enterprise Financial Services	0	2	4	1	2.86
National Bankshares	0	1	1	0	2.50

Enterprise Financial Services currently has a consensus price target of $70.00, suggesting a potential upside of 15.61%. Given Enterprise Financial Services’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Enterprise Financial Services is more favorable than National Bankshares.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

72.2% of Enterprise Financial Services shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 29.7% of National Bankshares shares are held by institutional investors. 2.2% of Enterprise Financial Services shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.3% of National Bankshares shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Enterprise Financial Services pays an annual dividend of $1.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. National Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $1.50 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Enterprise Financial Services pays out 27.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. National Bankshares pays out 47.2% 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. Enterprise Financial Services has raised its dividend for 11 consecutive years.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Enterprise Financial Services and National Bankshares”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Enterprise Financial Services	$1.00 billion	2.19	$201.37 million	$5.03	12.04
National Bankshares	$85.32 million	3.29	$15.83 million	$3.18	13.84

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

Summary

Enterprise Financial Services beats National Bankshares on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Enterprise Financial Services

Enterprise Financial Services Corp operates as the holding company for Enterprise Bank & Trust that offers banking and wealth management services to individuals and corporate customers primarily in Arizona, California, Florida, Kansas, Missouri, Nevada, and New Mexico. It provides checking, savings, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit. The company also provides commercial and industrial, commercial real estate, real estate construction and development, residential real estate, small business administration, agricultural, consumer, and other loan products. In addition, it offers treasury management and international trade services; tax credit brokerage services; life insurance premium and sponsor finance; tax credit related lending; other deposit accounts, such as community associations, property management, third party escrow, and trust services; treasury management product and services; customized solutions and products; cash management; fiduciary, investment management, and financial advisory services; and customer hedging products, including international banking, card services, and tax credit businesses. Further, the company provides online, device applications, text, and voice banking; remote deposit capture; internet banking, mobile banking, cash management, positive pay services, fraud detection and prevention, automated payables, check image, and statement and document imaging; and controlled disbursements, repurchase agreements, and sweep investment accounts. Enterprise Financial Services Corp was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Clayton, Missouri.

About National Bankshares

National Bankshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for the National Bank of Blacksburg that provides retail and commercial banking products and services to individuals, businesses, non-profits, and local governments. The company accepts interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing demand deposit accounts, money market deposit accounts, savings accounts, certificates of deposit, health savings accounts, and individual retirement accounts. Its loan products include commercial and agricultural, commercial real estate, residential real estate, home equity, and various consumer loan products, as well as loans for the construction of commercial and residential properties. The company also provides business and consumer debit and credit cards; letters of credit, night depository services, safe deposit boxes, utility payment services, and automatic funds transfer; wealth management, trust, and estate services; non-deposit investment and insurance products; and telephone, mobile, and Internet banking services. The company was founded in 1891 and is headquartered in Blacksburg, Virginia.