Critical Review: First Republic Bank (OTCMKTS:FRCB) vs. Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ)

First Republic Bank (OTCMKTS:FRCB) and Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation and earnings.

Volatility & Risk

First Republic Bank has a beta of 1.63, indicating that its share price is 63% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Esquire Financial has a beta of 0.74, indicating that its share price is 26% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares First Republic Bank and Esquire Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Republic Bank	N/A	N/A	N/A
Esquire Financial	31.38%	19.53%	2.47%

Dividends

First Republic Bank pays an annual dividend of $1.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 36,000.0%. Esquire Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Esquire Financial pays out 12.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for First Republic Bank and Esquire Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Republic Bank	0	0	0	0	0.00
Esquire Financial	0	1	1	1	3.00

Esquire Financial has a consensus price target of $71.67, suggesting a potential downside of 9.03%. Given Esquire Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Esquire Financial is more favorable than First Republic Bank.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares First Republic Bank and Esquire Financial”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Republic Bank	$6.75 billion	0.00	$1.67 billion	N/A	N/A
Esquire Financial	$120.71 million	5.43	$41.01 million	$4.97	15.85

First Republic Bank has higher revenue and earnings than Esquire Financial.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

0.0% of First Republic Bank shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 54.7% of Esquire Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.7% of First Republic Bank shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 18.9% of Esquire Financial shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Esquire Financial beats First Republic Bank on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About First Republic Bank

As of May 1, 2023, First Republic Bank went out of business. Previously, First Republic Bank provided private banking, private business banking, and private wealth management services to clients in metropolitan areas in the United States. The company was founded in 1985 and was headquartered in San Francisco, California. First Republic Bank now trades on OTCPK.

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.