Head-To-Head Survey: United Bancorp (NASDAQ:UBCP) & First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

United Bancorp (NASDAQ:UBCP) and First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, earnings and risk.

Risk & Volatility

United Bancorp has a beta of 0.45, indicating that its share price is 55% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Financial Bancorp. has a beta of 0.96, indicating that its share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

United Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.75 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.8%. First Financial Bancorp. pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.2%. United Bancorp pays out 59.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Financial Bancorp. pays out 37.0% 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. United Bancorp has increased its dividend for 13 consecutive years and First Financial Bancorp. has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years. United Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares United Bancorp and First Financial Bancorp.”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
United Bancorp	$43.98 million	1.70	$7.40 million	$1.27	10.18
First Financial Bancorp.	$1.62 billion	1.42	$228.83 million	$2.70	8.91

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for United Bancorp and First Financial Bancorp., as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
United Bancorp	0	1	0	0	2.00
First Financial Bancorp.	0	4	4	0	2.50

First Financial Bancorp. has a consensus target price of $29.50, suggesting a potential upside of 22.66%. Given First Financial Bancorp.’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe First Financial Bancorp. is more favorable than United Bancorp.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

15.4% of United Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 77.2% of First Financial Bancorp. shares are held by institutional investors. 12.9% of United Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of First Financial Bancorp. shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares United Bancorp and First Financial Bancorp.’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
United Bancorp	16.44%	11.96%	0.90%
First Financial Bancorp.	20.64%	10.72%	1.46%

Summary

First Financial Bancorp. beats United Bancorp on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About United Bancorp

United Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Unified Bank that provides commercial and retail banking services in Ohio. The company provides range of banking and financial services, which includes accepting demand, savings, and time deposits. It also offers commercial, real estate and consumer loans. United Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Martins Ferry, Ohio.

About First Financial Bancorp.

First Financial Bancorp. operates as the bank holding company for First Financial Bank that provides commercial banking and related services to individuals and businesses in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Illinois. The company offers checking, savings, and money-market accounts; and accepts various deposit products, such as interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing accounts, time deposits, and cash management services for commercial customers. It also provides real estate loans secured by residential property, such as one to four family residential housing units or commercial property comprising owner-occupied and/or investor income producing real estate consisting of apartments, shopping centers, and office buildings; commercial and industrial loans for various purposes, including inventory, receivables, and equipment, as well as equipment and leasehold improvement financing for franchisees; consumer loans comprising new and used vehicle loans, second mortgages on residential real estate, and unsecured loans; and home equity lines of credit. In addition, the company offers commercial financing to the insurance industry, registered investment advisors, certified public accountants, indirect auto finance companies, and restaurant franchisees. Further, it provides a range of trust and wealth management services; lease and equipment financing services; and currency payments, foreign exchange hedging, and other advisory products. First Financial Bancorp. was founded in 1863 and is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.