Head to Head Survey: United Bancorporation of Alabama (OTCMKTS:UBAB) and C&F Financial (NASDAQ:CFFI)

C&F Financial (NASDAQ:CFFI) and United Bancorporation of Alabama (OTCMKTS:UBAB) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation and risk.

Volatility & Risk

C&F Financial has a beta of 0.46, meaning that its share price is 54% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, United Bancorporation of Alabama has a beta of 0.46, meaning that its share price is 54% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares C&F Financial and United Bancorporation of Alabama’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
C&F Financial	14.39%	11.16%	1.00%
United Bancorporation of Alabama	22.18%	14.70%	1.53%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares C&F Financial and United Bancorporation of Alabama”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
C&F Financial	$133.29 million	1.69	$19.83 million	$8.08	8.62
United Bancorporation of Alabama	$97.72 million	1.77	$28.00 million	$6.07	8.81

United Bancorporation of Alabama has lower revenue, but higher earnings than C&F Financial. C&F Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than United Bancorporation of Alabama, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

37.2% of C&F Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 5.5% of United Bancorporation of Alabama shares are held by institutional investors. 6.3% of C&F Financial shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

C&F Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. United Bancorporation of Alabama pays an annual dividend of $1.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. C&F Financial pays out 22.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. United Bancorporation of Alabama pays out 23.1% 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. C&F Financial has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years. C&F Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for C&F Financial and United Bancorporation of Alabama, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
C&F Financial	0	1	0	0	2.00
United Bancorporation of Alabama	0	0	0	0	0.00

Summary

C&F Financial beats United Bancorporation of Alabama on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About C&F Financial

C&F Financial Corp. is a bank holding company, which engages in the provision of banking services to individuals and businesses. It operates through the following segments: Community Banking, Mortgage Banking and Consumer Finance. The Community Banking segment provides checking and savings deposit accounts, business, real estate, development, mortgage, home equity, and installment loans. The Mortgage Banking segment offers ancillary mortgage loan origination services for loan settlement and residential appraisals. The Consumer Finance segment consists of automobile financing through lending programs that are designed to serve customers in the non-prime market who have limited access to traditional automobile financing. The company was founded on March 8, 1994 and is headquartered in Toano, VA.

About United Bancorporation of Alabama

United Bancorporation of Alabama, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for United Bank that provides banking services. The company offers checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, individual retirement accounts, small business programs, business solutions, merchant services, and cash management services. It also provides various lending services, such as personal loans, business loans, lines of credit, and equipment loans; real estate loans for the agricultural community and working lines of credit; and overdraft services. In addition, the company offers debit cards, prepaid cards, Visa credit cards, gift cards, and safe deposit boxes. Further, it provides check cashing, convenience, remote deposit, mobile check deposit, personal storage compartments, Web payment options, insurance products, investment and brokerage, and online and mobile banking services. United Bancorporation of Alabama, Inc. was founded in 1904 and is based in Atmore, Alabama.