United Bancorp (NASDAQ:UBCP – Get Free Report) and Enterprise Financial Services (NASDAQ:EFSC – Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, earnings and dividends.
Profitability
This table compares United Bancorp and Enterprise Financial Services’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| United Bancorp | 16.29% | 11.80% | 0.91% |
| Enterprise Financial Services | 19.81% | 10.35% | 1.19% |
Dividends
United Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.77 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.0%. Enterprise Financial Services pays an annual dividend of $1.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. United Bancorp pays out 57.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Enterprise Financial Services pays out 24.9% 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. United Bancorp has increased its dividend for 13 consecutive years and Enterprise Financial Services has increased its dividend for 11 consecutive years. United Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Valuation and Earnings
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| United Bancorp | $47.51 million | 1.87 | $7.75 million | $1.35 | 11.41 |
| Enterprise Financial Services | $1.00 billion | 2.21 | $201.37 million | $5.30 | 11.44 |
Enterprise Financial Services has higher revenue and earnings than United Bancorp. United Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Enterprise Financial Services, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Risk & Volatility
United Bancorp has a beta of 0.33, suggesting that its share price is 67% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Enterprise Financial Services has a beta of 0.8, suggesting that its share price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
15.4% of United Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 72.2% of Enterprise Financial Services shares are held by institutional investors. 13.9% of United Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.2% of Enterprise Financial Services shares are held 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.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for United Bancorp and Enterprise Financial Services, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| United Bancorp | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.00 |
| Enterprise Financial Services | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2.80 |
Enterprise Financial Services has a consensus price target of $66.00, indicating a potential upside of 8.89%. Given Enterprise Financial Services’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Enterprise Financial Services is more favorable than United Bancorp.
Summary
Enterprise Financial Services beats United Bancorp on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
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.
About Enterprise Financial Services
Enterprise Financial Services Corp operates as the holding company for Enterprise Bank & Trust that offers banking and wealth management services to individuals and corporate customers primarily in Arizona, California, Florida, Kansas, Missouri, Nevada, and New Mexico. It provides checking, savings, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit. The company also provides commercial and industrial, commercial real estate, real estate construction and development, residential real estate, small business administration, agricultural, consumer, and other loan products. In addition, it offers treasury management and international trade services; tax credit brokerage services; life insurance premium and sponsor finance; tax credit related lending; other deposit accounts, such as community associations, property management, third party escrow, and trust services; treasury management product and services; customized solutions and products; cash management; fiduciary, investment management, and financial advisory services; and customer hedging products, including international banking, card services, and tax credit businesses. Further, the company provides online, device applications, text, and voice banking; remote deposit capture; internet banking, mobile banking, cash management, positive pay services, fraud detection and prevention, automated payables, check image, and statement and document imaging; and controlled disbursements, repurchase agreements, and sweep investment accounts. Enterprise Financial Services Corp was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Clayton, Missouri.
Receive News & Ratings for United Bancorp Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for United Bancorp and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
