Eagle Financial Services (OTCMKTS:EFSI – Get Free Report) and Southside Bancshares (NASDAQ:SBSI – Get Free Report) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, risk and valuation. 0.3% of Eagle Financial Services shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 55.7% of Southside Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.7% of Eagle Financial Services shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 6.0% of Southside Bancshares shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth. This table compares Eagle Financial Services and Southside Bancshares”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation. Southside Bancshares has higher revenue and earnings than Eagle Financial Services. Southside Bancshares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Eagle Financial Services, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks. Eagle Financial Services pays an annual dividend of $1.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Southside Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $1.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.2%. Eagle Financial Services pays out 57.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Southside Bancshares pays out 51.1% 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. Southside Bancshares has raised its dividend for 30 consecutive years. Southside Bancshares is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth. Eagle Financial Services has a beta of 0.28, meaning that its stock price is 72% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Southside Bancshares has a beta of 0.64, meaning that its stock price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500. This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Eagle Financial Services and Southside Bancshares, as reported by MarketBeat. Southside Bancshares has a consensus target price of $34.50, indicating a potential upside of 25.75%. Given Southside Bancshares’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Southside Bancshares is more favorable than Eagle Financial Services. This table compares Eagle Financial Services and Southside Bancshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets. Southside Bancshares beats Eagle Financial Services on 14 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.