National Bankshares (NASDAQ:NKSH) versus United Bancshares (NASDAQ:UBOH) Head to Head Review

United Bancshares (NASDAQ:UBOH) and National Bankshares (NASDAQ:NKSH) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership and dividends.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

1.0% of United Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 29.7% of National Bankshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.6% of United Bancshares shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.8% of National Bankshares shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares United Bancshares and National Bankshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
United Bancshares	14.34%	N/A	N/A
National Bankshares	12.65%	6.70%	0.54%

Dividends

United Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.2%. National Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $1.46 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.9%. United Bancshares pays out 31.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. National Bankshares pays out 64.6% 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.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares United Bancshares and National Bankshares”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
United Bancshares	$54.58 million	1.15	$8.61 million	$2.82	7.45
National Bankshares	$42.88 million	4.12	$15.69 million	$2.26	13.27

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for United Bancshares and National Bankshares, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
United Bancshares	0	0	0	0	N/A
National Bankshares	0	0	0	0	N/A

Risk & Volatility

United Bancshares has a beta of 0.36, suggesting that its stock price is 64% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, National Bankshares has a beta of 0.56, suggesting that its stock price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

National Bankshares beats United Bancshares on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About United Bancshares

United Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for The Union Bank Company that provides various commercial and consumer banking services. The company accepts various deposits products, such as checking, savings, demand deposit, money market deposit, term certificate, and individual retirement accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. Its loan products include commercial and residential real estate, agricultural, commercial and industrial, home equity, and various types of consumer and small business administration loans. In addition, the company offers wealth management, financial needs analysis, mutual funds, securities trading, annuities, and life insurance services; and treasury management, online and mobile banking, automatic teller machine, bill pay, safe deposit box rental, payment, and other personalized services. It also operates full service banking centers and loan production offices in northwest and central Ohio. United Bancshares, Inc. was founded in 1904 and is headquartered in Columbus Grove, Ohio.

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.