Contrasting United Bancorp (UBCP) and Its Peers

United Bancorp (NASDAQ:UBCP) is one of 919 publicly-traded companies in the “Banks” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its peers? We will compare United Bancorp to related companies based on the strength of its dividends, profitability, risk, institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares United Bancorp and its peers gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
United Bancorp	$47.51 million	$7.75 million	11.29
United Bancorp Competitors	$37.93 billion	$2.42 billion	21.02

United Bancorp’s peers have higher revenue and earnings than United Bancorp. United Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Risk and Volatility

United Bancorp has a beta of 0.3, indicating that its share price is 70% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, United Bancorp’s peers have a beta of 0.62, indicating that their average share price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares United Bancorp and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
United Bancorp	15.14%	10.63%	0.86%
United Bancorp Competitors	15.66%	9.47%	0.93%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for United Bancorp and its peers, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
United Bancorp	0	1	0	0	2.00
United Bancorp Competitors	7503	30277	27877	1492	2.35

As a group, “Banks” companies have a potential upside of 14.42%. Given United Bancorp’s peers stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe United Bancorp has less favorable growth aspects than its peers.

Dividends

United Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.79 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.4%. United Bancorp pays out 61.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Banks” companies pay a dividend yield of 8.9% and pay out 28.9% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. United Bancorp has increased its dividend for 13 consecutive years. United Bancorp lags its peers as a dividend stock, given its lower dividend yield and higher payout ratio.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

15.4% of United Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 48.0% of shares of all “Banks” companies are held by institutional investors. 13.9% of United Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 9.7% of shares of all “Banks” companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

United Bancorp peers beat United Bancorp on 13 of the 15 factors compared.

United Bancorp Company Profile

United Bancorp, Inc. is a bank holding company headquartered in Martins Ferry, Ohio, and the parent company of Unified Bank. Through the bank, it serves individuals, businesses and communities in eastern Ohio and nearby West Virginia. Unified Bank offers deposit accounts, including checking and savings, along with consumer, mortgage and commercial lending. Its services also include digital banking and other financial services for personal and business customers. The company focuses on community banking, combining local banking services with the resources of a regional institution.