Reviewing United Bancorp (NASDAQ:UBCP) and ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS)

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) and United Bancorp (NASDAQ:UBCP) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk and dividends.

Risk and Volatility

ServisFirst Bancshares has a beta of 0.85, indicating that its stock price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, United Bancorp has a beta of 0.35, indicating that its stock price is 65% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

ServisFirst Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $1.34 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. United Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.74 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.5%. ServisFirst Bancshares pays out 30.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. United Bancorp pays out 59.7% 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. ServisFirst Bancshares has increased its dividend for 10 consecutive years and United Bancorp has increased its dividend for 13 consecutive years. United Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares ServisFirst Bancshares and United Bancorp”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ServisFirst Bancshares	$498.08 million	7.94	$227.24 million	$4.40	16.45
United Bancorp	$29.81 million	2.61	$7.40 million	$1.24	10.84

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

67.3% of ServisFirst Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 15.4% of United Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 6.7% of ServisFirst Bancshares shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 12.9% of United Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for ServisFirst Bancshares and United Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ServisFirst Bancshares	0	2	0	0	2.00
United Bancorp	0	0	0	0	0.00

ServisFirst Bancshares presently has a consensus price target of $87.50, suggesting a potential upside of 20.90%. Given ServisFirst Bancshares’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe ServisFirst Bancshares is more favorable than United Bancorp.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ServisFirst Bancshares	23.16%	14.81%	1.39%
United Bancorp	16.83%	11.73%	0.90%

Summary

ServisFirst Bancshares beats United Bancorp on 13 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ServisFirst Bancshares

ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for ServisFirst Bank that provides various banking services to individual and corporate customers. It accepts demand, time, savings, and other deposits; checking, money market, and IRA accounts; and certificates of deposit. The company's loan products include commercial lending products, including seasonal, bridge, and term loans for working capital, expansion of the business, acquisition of property, and plant and equipment, as well as commercial lines of credit; commercial real estate loans, construction and development loans, and residential real estate loans; and consumer loans, such as home equity loans, vehicle financing, loans secured by deposits, and secured and unsecured personal loans. It also offers other banking products and services comprising telephone and mobile banking, Internet banking, direct deposit, traveler's checks, safe deposit boxes, attorney trust accounts, automatic account transfers, automated teller machines, and debit and credit card systems; treasury and cash management services; wire transfer, night depository, banking-by-mail, and remote capture services; and correspondent banking services to other financial institutions. In addition, the company holds and manages participations in residential mortgages and commercial real estate loans originated by ServisFirst Bank in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee. The company was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama.

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.