Critical Review: Thomasville Bancshares (OTCMKTS:THVB) vs. United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI)

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

70.8% of United Bankshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.7% of United Bankshares shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
United Bankshares	$1.63 billion	3.38	$373.00 million	$3.05	12.84
Thomasville Bancshares	$137.59 million	4.37	$39.27 million	N/A	N/A

United Bankshares has higher revenue and earnings than Thomasville Bancshares.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for United Bankshares and Thomasville Bancshares, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
United Bankshares	0	4	1	0	2.20
Thomasville Bancshares	0	0	0	0	0.00

United Bankshares currently has a consensus target price of $41.83, suggesting a potential upside of 6.83%. Given United Bankshares’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe United Bankshares is more favorable than Thomasville Bancshares.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
United Bankshares	24.37%	8.15%	1.33%
Thomasville Bancshares	N/A	N/A	N/A

Risk and Volatility

United Bankshares has a beta of 0.81, suggesting that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Thomasville Bancshares has a beta of 0.2, suggesting that its stock price is 80% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

United Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $1.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Thomasville Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $2.90 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. United Bankshares pays out 49.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. United Bankshares has raised its dividend for 26 consecutive years. United Bankshares is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

United Bankshares beats Thomasville Bancshares on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Thomasville Bancshares

Thomasville Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Thomasville National Bank that provides a range of banking services to individual and corporate customers primarily in Thomas and Glynn counties, Georgia, Leon County, Florida, and the surrounding counties. The company offers checking and savings accounts; money market accounts; and certificates of deposits. It also provides commercial real estate mortgage loans, such as non-farm and non-residential commercial real estate loans, construction loans for commercial businesses, multifamily loans secured by income producing properties, and farmland; and 1-4 family residential loans, including first mortgage liens, junior liens, and home equity lines. In addition, the company offers commercial, financial, and agricultural loans; consumer loans comprising direct consumer instalment loans, overdrafts, and other revolving credit loans and educational loans; and loans to municipalities and development authorities. Further, it provides trust and money management services. The company was incorporated in 1995 and is based in Thomasville, Georgia.