Auburn National Bancorporation (NASDAQ:AUBN) and United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) Head to Head Contrast

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) and Auburn National Bancorporation (NASDAQ:AUBN) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership and risk.

Volatility and Risk

United Community Banks has a beta of 0.83, meaning that its share price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Auburn National Bancorporation has a beta of 0.42, meaning that its share price is 58% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

United Community Banks pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Auburn National Bancorporation pays an annual dividend of $1.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.6%. United Community Banks pays out 36.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Auburn National Bancorporation pays out 47.6% 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.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for United Community Banks and Auburn National Bancorporation, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
United Community Banks	0	4	4	0	2.50
Auburn National Bancorporation	0	1	0	0	2.00

United Community Banks presently has a consensus target price of $38.40, indicating a potential upside of 14.51%. Given United Community Banks’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe United Community Banks is more favorable than Auburn National Bancorporation.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares United Community Banks and Auburn National Bancorporation”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
United Community Banks	$1.54 billion	2.61	$328.10 million	$2.72	12.33
Auburn National Bancorporation	$43.89 million	1.88	$7.26 million	$2.27	10.37

United Community Banks has higher revenue and earnings than Auburn National Bancorporation. Auburn National Bancorporation is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than United Community Banks, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares United Community Banks and Auburn National Bancorporation’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
United Community Banks	22.05%	9.65%	1.24%
Auburn National Bancorporation	16.53%	8.88%	0.78%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

82.3% of United Community Banks shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 39.5% of Auburn National Bancorporation shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.5% of United Community Banks shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 18.7% of Auburn National Bancorporation shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

United Community Banks beats Auburn National Bancorporation on 14 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About United Community Banks

United Community Banks, Inc. operates as the financial holding company for United Community Bank that provides financial products and services to commercial, retail, government, education, energy, health care, and real estate sectors. The company accepts various deposit products, including checking, savings, money market, and other deposit accounts. It also offers lending services, including real estate, consumer, and commercial loans, to individuals, small businesses, mid-sized commercial businesses, and non-profit organizations, as well as secured and unsecured, and mortgage loans. In addition, the company originate loans partially guaranteed by the SBA and USDA loan programs. Further, it provides wealth management services comprising financial planning, customized portfolio management, and investment advice; trust services to manage fiduciary assets; non-deposit investment products; and insurance products, including life insurance, long-term care insurance, and tax-deferred annuities, as well as invests in residential and commercial mortgage-backed securities, asset-backed securities, the U.S. treasury, the U.S. agency, and municipal obligations. Additionally, the company offers reinsurance on a property insurance contract; insurance agency services; brokerage services; and payment processing, merchant, wire transfer, private banking, and other related financial services. It operates through a network of 171 branches in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. United Community Banks, Inc. was founded in 1950 and is headquartered in Blairsville, Georgia.

About Auburn National Bancorporation

Auburn National Bancorporation, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for AuburnBank that provides various banking products and services in East Alabama. The company offers checking, savings, and transaction deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. It also provides commercial, financial, agricultural, real estate construction, and consumer loan products; and other financial services. In addition, the company offers automated teller services; debit cards; online banking, bill payment, and other electronic banking services; and safe deposit boxes. Auburn National Bancorporation, Inc. was founded in 1907 and is headquartered in Auburn, Alabama.