Comparing United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI) & Bridgewater Bancshares (NASDAQ:BWB)

Bridgewater Bancshares (NASDAQ:BWB) and United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability and valuation.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Bridgewater Bancshares and United Bankshares”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Bridgewater Bancshares	$106.78 million	3.87	$39.96 million	$1.05	14.34
United Bankshares	$1.54 billion	3.77	$366.31 million	$2.64	16.22

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

65.8% of Bridgewater Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 70.8% of United Bankshares shares are held by institutional investors. 23.2% of Bridgewater Bancshares shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.7% of United Bankshares shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Bridgewater Bancshares and United Bankshares, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Bridgewater Bancshares	0	0	3	0	3.00
United Bankshares	0	3	1	0	2.25

Bridgewater Bancshares presently has a consensus target price of $17.00, suggesting a potential upside of 12.88%. United Bankshares has a consensus target price of $40.25, suggesting a potential downside of 5.98%. Given Bridgewater Bancshares’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Bridgewater Bancshares is more favorable than United Bankshares.

Volatility & Risk

Bridgewater Bancshares has a beta of 0.67, suggesting that its share price is 33% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, United Bankshares has a beta of 0.98, suggesting that its share price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Bridgewater Bancshares and United Bankshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Bridgewater Bancshares	13.54%	9.02%	0.72%
United Bankshares	22.05%	7.58%	1.23%

Summary

United Bankshares beats Bridgewater Bancshares on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Bridgewater Bancshares

Bridgewater Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Bridgewater Bank that provides banking products and services to commercial real estate investors, entrepreneurs, business clients, and individuals in the United States. The company provides savings and money market accounts, demand deposits, time and brokered deposits, and interest and noninterest bearing transaction, as well as certificates of deposit. It offers commercial loans to sole proprietorships, partnerships, corporations, and other business enterprises to finance working capital, capital investment, or for other business related purposes; paycheck protection program loans; construction and land development loans; 1-4 family mortgage loans; multifamily lending products; owner and non-owner occupied commercial real estate loans; and consumer and other loans. In addition, the company online, mobile, and direct banking services. Bridgewater Bancshares, Inc. was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Saint Louis Park, Minnesota.

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.