Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) vs. United Bancorporation of Alabama (OTCMKTS:UBAB) Financial Survey

United Bancorporation of Alabama (OTCMKTS:UBAB) and Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, risk, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Dividends

United Bancorporation of Alabama pays an annual dividend of $1.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Regions Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.06 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. United Bancorporation of Alabama pays out 26.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Regions Financial pays out 44.2% 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. Regions Financial has raised its dividend for 12 consecutive years. Regions Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Valuation & Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
United Bancorporation of Alabama	$89.83 million	1.77	$19.67 million	$5.22	9.96
Regions Financial	$7.53 billion	3.23	$2.16 billion	$2.40	11.72

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

5.5% of United Bancorporation of Alabama shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.4% of Regions Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Regions Financial shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

United Bancorporation of Alabama has a beta of 0.44, indicating that its stock price is 56% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Regions Financial has a beta of 1.03, indicating that its stock price is 3% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for United Bancorporation of Alabama and Regions Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
United Bancorporation of Alabama	0	1	0	0	2.00
Regions Financial	3	9	6	0	2.17

Regions Financial has a consensus price target of $29.75, indicating a potential upside of 5.77%. Given Regions Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Regions Financial is more favorable than United Bancorporation of Alabama.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
United Bancorporation of Alabama	21.11%	12.70%	1.33%
Regions Financial	22.44%	12.55%	1.37%

Summary

Regions Financial beats United Bancorporation of Alabama on 14 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Regions Financial

Regions Financial Corporation, a financial holding company, provides banking and bank-related services to individual and corporate customers. It operates through three segments: Corporate Bank, Consumer Bank, and Wealth Management. The Corporate Bank segment offers commercial banking services, such as commercial and industrial, commercial real estate, and investor real estate lending; equipment lease financing; deposit products; and securities underwriting and placement, loan syndication and placement, foreign exchange, derivatives, merger and acquisition, and other advisory services. It serves corporate, middle market, and commercial real estate developers and investors. The Consumer Bank segment provides consumer banking products and services related to residential first mortgages, home equity lines and loans, consumer credit cards, and other consumer loans, as well as deposits. The Wealth Management segment offers credit related products, and retirement and savings solutions; and trust and investment management, asset management, and estate planning services to individuals, businesses, governmental institutions, and non-profit entities. It also provides investment and insurance products; low-income housing tax credit corporate fund syndication services; and other specialty financing services. The company was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama.