United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI – Get Rating) and Citizens (NASDAQ:CIZN – Get Rating) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, profitability and valuation.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for United Bankshares and Citizens, as provided by MarketBeat.
Get United Bankshares alerts:| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| United Bankshares | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2.50 |
| Citizens | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
United Bankshares presently has a consensus price target of $39.00, indicating a potential upside of 6.30%. Given United Bankshares' stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe United Bankshares is more favorable than Citizens.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares United Bankshares and Citizens' gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| United Bankshares | $1.07 billion | 4.60 | $367.74 million | $2.58 | 14.22 |
| Citizens | $50.70 million | 1.88 | $7.49 million | $1.47 | 11.61 |
United Bankshares has higher revenue and earnings than Citizens. Citizens 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
69.6% of United Bankshares shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 14.0% of Citizens shares are held by institutional investors. 4.2% of United Bankshares shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 8.7% of Citizens shares are held 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.
Dividends
United Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $1.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Citizens pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.6%. United Bankshares pays out 55.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Citizens pays out 65.3% 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 Bankshares has raised its dividend for 46 consecutive years.
Volatility & Risk
United Bankshares has a beta of 1.1, suggesting that its stock price is 10% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Citizens has a beta of 0.02, suggesting that its stock price is 98% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares United Bankshares and Citizens' net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| United Bankshares | 33.26% | 7.53% | 1.19% |
| Citizens | 16.70% | 10.94% | 0.62% |
Summary
United Bankshares beats Citizens on 14 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
About United Bankshares
(Get Rating)
United Bankshares, Inc., a financial holding company, 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, NOW accounts, and interest-bearing checking accounts. Its loan products include commercial loans and leases; construction and real estate loans; personal, student, credit card, 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 of December 31, 2021, the company operated 250 offices in Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C., North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio. United Bankshares, Inc. was incorporated in 1982 and is headquartered in Charleston, West Virginia.
About Citizens
(Get Rating)
Citizens Holding Company operates as the bank holding company for The Citizens Bank of Philadelphia that provides various commercial and personal banking products and services. The company offers demand deposits, as well as savings and time deposit accounts. It also provides secured and unsecured loans; mortgage loans; single and multi-family housing, farm, residential and commercial construction, and commercial real estate loans; commercial, industrial, and agricultural production loans; and consumer loans, as well as issues letters of credit. In addition, the company offers personal and corporate trust services; credit life and title insurance; and internet and mobile banking services. It operates a principal office in downtown Philadelphia, Mississippi; and 28 additional branches in Neshoba, Newton, Leake, Lamar, Forrest, Scott, Attala, Lauderdale, Lafayette, Oktibbeha, Rankin, Madison, Harrison, Jackson, Winston, and Kemper counties, Mississippi. Citizens Holding Company was founded in 1908 and is headquartered in Philadelphia, Mississippi.
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