Contrasting United Bancorporation of Alabama (OTCMKTS:UBAB) & German American Bancorp (NASDAQ:GABC)

German American Bancorp (NASDAQ:GABC) and United Bancorporation of Alabama (OTCMKTS:UBAB) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares German American Bancorp and United Bancorporation of Alabama’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
German American Bancorp	25.83%	13.68%	1.38%
United Bancorporation of Alabama	34.65%	27.14%	2.26%

Dividends

German American Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. United Bancorporation of Alabama pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. German American Bancorp pays out 37.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. United Bancorporation of Alabama pays out 11.5% 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. German American Bancorp has increased its dividend for 12 consecutive years. German American Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for German American Bancorp and United Bancorporation of Alabama, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
German American Bancorp	0	2	1	0	2.33
United Bancorporation of Alabama	0	0	0	0	N/A

German American Bancorp currently has a consensus price target of $36.33, suggesting a potential upside of 4.86%. Given German American Bancorp’s higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe German American Bancorp is more favorable than United Bancorporation of Alabama.

Risk and Volatility

German American Bancorp has a beta of 0.62, suggesting that its share price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, United Bancorporation of Alabama has a beta of 0.43, suggesting that its share price is 57% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

46.9% of German American Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 5.5% of United Bancorporation of Alabama shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.6% of German American Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares German American Bancorp and United Bancorporation of Alabama’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
German American Bancorp	$316.92 million	3.24	$85.89 million	$2.85	12.16
United Bancorporation of Alabama	$87.26 million	1.95	$31.54 million	$8.71	5.51

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

Summary

German American Bancorp beats United Bancorporation of Alabama on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About German American Bancorp

German American Bancorp, Inc. operates as a financial holding company for German American Bank that provides retail and commercial banking services. The company operates through three segments: Core Banking, Wealth Management Services, and Insurance Operations. The Core Banking segment accepts deposits from the general public; and originates consumer, commercial and agricultural, commercial and agricultural real estate, and residential mortgage loans, as well as sells residential mortgage loans in the secondary market. The Wealth Management segment provides trust, investment advisory, brokerage, and retirement planning services. The Insurance Operations segment offers a range of personal and corporate property and casualty insurance products. It also offers checking, saving, and individual retirement accounts; certificates of deposit; wire transfer; credit cards; home equity, mortgages, and small business; treasury management; and online and mobile banking, bill pay, digital wallet, mobile check deposit, credit score and report, money management, and estatements, as well as wealth advisory. German American Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1910 and is based in Jasper, Indiana.

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.