Head-To-Head Review: Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK) versus Mizuho Financial Group (NYSE:MFG)

Mizuho Financial Group (NYSE:MFG) and Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, institutional ownership, valuation and profitability.

Dividends

Mizuho Financial Group pays an annual dividend of $0.14 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. Equity Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Mizuho Financial Group pays out 17.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Equity Bancshares pays out 43.1% 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. Equity Bancshares has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years. Equity Bancshares is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

This table compares Mizuho Financial Group and Equity Bancshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Mizuho Financial Group	17.15%	12.82%	0.49%
Equity Bancshares	8.26%	13.34%	1.46%

Risk & Volatility

Mizuho Financial Group has a beta of 0.46, indicating that its stock price is 54% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Equity Bancshares has a beta of 0.76, indicating that its stock price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

3.3% of Mizuho Financial Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 71.8% of Equity Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. 0.0% of Mizuho Financial Group shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 14.5% of Equity Bancshares 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.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Mizuho Financial Group and Equity Bancshares”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Mizuho Financial Group	$60.35 billion	2.26	$7.64 billion	$0.82	13.47
Equity Bancshares	$367.98 million	2.64	$22.73 million	$1.67	28.23

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Mizuho Financial Group and Equity Bancshares, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Mizuho Financial Group	0	0	0	1	4.00
Equity Bancshares	0	4	4	1	2.67

Equity Bancshares has a consensus target price of $55.33, indicating a potential upside of 17.38%. Given Equity Bancshares’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Equity Bancshares is more favorable than Mizuho Financial Group.

Summary

Equity Bancshares beats Mizuho Financial Group on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Mizuho Financial Group

Mizuho Financial Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in banking, trust, securities, and other businesses related to financial services in Japan, the Americas, Europe, Asia/Oceania, and internationally. It operates through Retail & Business Banking Company, Corporate & Institutional Company, Global Corporate Company, Global Markets Company, Asset Management Company, and Others segments. The company provides deposit products; syndicated, housing, and card loans; business matching services; and advisory services related to overseas expansions, and mergers and acquisitions-related services. It also offers consulting services, including asset management and asset succession; payroll services; and sells lottery tickets issued by prefectures and ordinance-designated cities. In addition, it offers fund management, underwriting of equity and bonds, risk hedging products, etc. for corporate customers; solutions based on capital management, business strategy, and financial strategy; real estate services; advisory services and solutions, such as advice on proposals on various investment products to financial institutions; and financial services that include funding support and public bonds underwriting. Further, the company offers corporate finance and transaction banking srvices; sales and trading services; investment products; pension funds; and ALM and investment services, including stable capital raising and balance sheet management, as well as management of fixed income, equity, and other securities portfolios. Additionally, the company provides online banking, cash management solutions, currency transaction, trade finance, custody, yen correspondence settlement, and research and consulting services; trust, securitization and structured finance, and stock transfers; and private banking and information technology-related services. Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

About Equity Bancshares

Equity Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Equity Bank that provides a range of banking, mortgage banking, and financial services to individual and corporate customers. The company accepts various demand, savings, money market, and time deposits. Its loan products include commercial and industrial, commercial real estate-backed, commercial lines of credit, working capital, term, equipment financing, acquisition, expansion and development, borrowing base, real estate construction, homebuilder, agricultural, government guaranteed, and other loan products to national and regional companies, restaurant franchisees, hoteliers, real estate developers, manufacturing and industrial companies, agribusiness companies, and other businesses. The company’s loan products also comprise various consumer loans to individuals and professionals, including residential real estate loans, home equity loans and lines of credit, installment loans, unsecured and secured personal lines of credit, overdraft protection, and letters of credit. It also provides debit cards; online banking solutions, such as access to account balances, online transfers, online bill payment, and electronic delivery of customer statements; mobile banking solutions comprising remote check deposits with mobile bill pay; ATMs; and treasury management, wire transfer, automated clearing house, and stop payment services. In addition, the company offers cash management deposit products, such as lockbox, remote deposit capture, positive pay, reverse positive pay, account reconciliation services, zero balance accounts, and sweep accounts, as well as banking services through telephone, mail, and personal appointments. As of December 31, 2021, it operated a network of 69 branches in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. The company was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Wichita, Kansas.