United Bancorp (NASDAQ:UBCP) & Dacotah Banks (OTCMKTS:DBIN) Head to Head Comparison

United Bancorp (NASDAQ:UBCP) and Dacotah Banks (OTCMKTS:DBIN) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for United Bancorp and Dacotah Banks, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
United Bancorp	0	0	0	0	N/A
Dacotah Banks	0	0	0	0	N/A

Profitability

This table compares United Bancorp and Dacotah Banks’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
United Bancorp	19.85%	14.19%	1.04%
Dacotah Banks	11.08%	N/A	N/A

Risk & Volatility

United Bancorp has a beta of 0.41, suggesting that its stock price is 59% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Dacotah Banks has a beta of 0.38, suggesting that its stock price is 62% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

United Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.71 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.8%. Dacotah Banks pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. United Bancorp pays out 47.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Dacotah Banks pays out 26.7% 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 12 consecutive years. United Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

15.4% of United Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 11.7% of United Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares United Bancorp and Dacotah Banks”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
United Bancorp	$40.90 million	1.79	$8.95 million	$1.49	8.24
Dacotah Banks	$199.04 million	1.80	$26.17 million	$2.25	14.22

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

Summary

United Bancorp beats Dacotah Banks on 8 of the 14 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 Dacotah Banks

Dacotah Banks, Inc. provides various banking and financial products and services to individuals and businesses. The company provides demand and certificates of deposit; checking, individual retirement, health savings, and money market accounts; and commercial, commercial real estate, residential mortgage, and consumer loans. It also offers vehicle, boat, motorhome, mortgage, camper, motorcycle, snowmobile, jet SKI, and ATV loans; and unsecured, overdraft protection, and student loans; business, term, and small business administration loans, and other loans. In addition, the company provides credit, debit, and gift cards; mobile and online banking; auto, homeowner, health, and life insurance products; and estate, and trust services. Further, the company offers retirement planning, investment management, foundation, endowment, bill paying, charitable giving, and elder care services, as well as cash management services. Additionally, it provides offers operating lines of credit, state and federal programs, and equipment loans and leases. It also provides crop, homeowner, health, life, farm, and ranch insurance services; and farm and ranch management services. The company operates across various locations in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Dacotah Banks, Inc. was founded in 1955 and is headquartered in Aberdeen, South Dakota.