Head-To-Head Review: United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI) & GrandSouth Bancorporation (OTCMKTS:GRRB)

GrandSouth Bancorporation (OTCMKTS:GRRB) and United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation and risk.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

70.8% of United Bankshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 33.3% of GrandSouth Bancorporation shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.5% of United Bankshares shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for GrandSouth Bancorporation and United Bankshares, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
GrandSouth Bancorporation	0	0	0	0	0.00
United Bankshares	0	4	1	0	2.20

United Bankshares has a consensus price target of $41.83, suggesting a potential upside of 2.94%. Given United Bankshares’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe United Bankshares is more favorable than GrandSouth Bancorporation.

Earnings & Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
GrandSouth Bancorporation	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
United Bankshares	$1.18 billion	4.84	$373.00 million	$3.05	13.32

United Bankshares has higher revenue and earnings than GrandSouth Bancorporation.

Profitability

This table compares GrandSouth Bancorporation and United Bankshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
GrandSouth Bancorporation	N/A	N/A	N/A
United Bankshares	24.37%	8.15%	1.33%

Summary

United Bankshares beats GrandSouth Bancorporation on 8 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About GrandSouth Bancorporation

GrandSouth Bancorporation operates as the bank holding company for GrandSouth Bank that provides banking services to individuals and businesses. It accepts checking accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, various term certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts. The company also offers one-to-four family residential, commercial real estate, home equity and lines of credit, residential construction and other construction and land, and commercial loans; and consumer loans comprising loans secured by personal property, such as automobiles, marketable securities, and boats and motorcycles, as well as unsecured consumer debt. In addition, it invests in investment securities, as well as provides specialty floor plan lending to small auto dealerships under the CarBucks trade name. The company operates through eight branches across South Carolina. GrandSouth Bancorporation was founded in 1998 and is based in Greenville, South Carolina.

About United Bankshares

United Bankshares, Inc., through its subsidiaries, primarily provides commercial and retail banking products and services in the United States. It operates through two segments, Community Banking and Mortgage Banking. The company accepts checking, savings, and time and money market accounts; individual retirement accounts; and demand deposits, statement and special savings, and NOW accounts. Its loan products include commercial loans and leases to small to mid-size industrial and commercial companies; construction and real estate loans, such as commercial and residential mortgages, and loans secured by owner-occupied real estate; personal, student, credit card receivables, personal, commercial, and floor plan loans; and home equity loans. In addition, the company provides credit cards; safe deposit boxes, wire transfers, and other banking products and services; investment and security services; services to correspondent banks, including buying and selling federal funds; automated teller machine services; and internet and telephone banking services. Further, it offers community banking services, such as asset management, real property title insurance, financial planning, mortgage banking, and brokerage services, as well as investment management and retirement planning services. United Bankshares, Inc. was incorporated in 1982 and is headquartered in Charleston, West Virginia.