Union Bankshares (NASDAQ:UNB) versus United Bancorp (NASDAQ:UBCP) Critical Contrast

Union Bankshares (NASDAQ:UNB) and United Bancorp (NASDAQ:UBCP) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, earnings and profitability.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

14.8% of Union Bankshares shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 15.4% of United Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of Union Bankshares shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 11.7% of United Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Union Bankshares and United Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Union Bankshares	0	0	0	0	N/A
United Bancorp	0	0	0	0	N/A

Profitability

This table compares Union Bankshares and United Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Union Bankshares	13.63%	13.53%	0.61%
United Bancorp	19.85%	14.19%	1.04%

Dividends

Union Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $1.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.0%. United Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.71 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.4%. Union Bankshares pays out 60.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. United Bancorp pays out 47.7% 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. Union Bankshares has raised its dividend for 11 consecutive years and United Bancorp has raised its dividend for 12 consecutive years. United Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Risk and Volatility

Union Bankshares has a beta of 0.76, indicating that its stock price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, United Bancorp has a beta of 0.41, indicating that its stock price is 59% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Union Bankshares and United Bancorp”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Union Bankshares	$46.15 million	2.84	$11.26 million	$2.37	12.23
United Bancorp	$40.90 million	1.91	$8.95 million	$1.49	8.79

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

Summary

United Bancorp beats Union Bankshares on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Union Bankshares

Union Bankshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Union Bank that provides retail, commercial, and municipal banking products and services in northern Vermont and New Hampshire. It offers retail depository services, such as personal checking, savings, money market, IRA/SEP/KEOGH, and health savings accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company also provides commercial real estate loans; commercial loans for plant and equipment, working capital, real estate renovation, and other business purposes to business owners and investors; small business administration guaranteed loans; residential construction and mortgage loans; municipal financing, including loans and excess deposits secured by FHLBB letters of credit; and home improvement loans and overdraft checking privileges against preauthorized lines of credit. In addition, it offers online cash management services, including account reconciliation, credit card depository, automated clearing house origination, wire transfers, positive pay and night depository services; merchant credit card services for the deposit and immediate credit of sales drafts; remote deposit capture services; and online mortgage application and consumer deposit account opening services. Further, the company provides business checking accounts; standby letters of credit, bank checks or money orders, and safe deposit boxes; ATM cards and services; debit cards; telephone, internet, and mobile banking services, including bill pay; and wealth management, fiduciary, and trust services. It offers retail banking services to individuals; and commercial banking services to small and medium sized business corporations, limited liability companies, partnerships, and sole proprietorships, as well as nonprofit organizations, local municipalities, and school districts. Union Bankshares, Inc. was founded in 1891 and is headquartered in Morrisville, Vermont.

About United Bancorp

United Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Unified Bank that provides commercial and retail banking services in Ohio. The company provides range of banking and financial services, which includes accepting demand, savings, and time deposits. It also offers commercial, real estate and consumer loans. United Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Martins Ferry, Ohio.