United Bancorp (NASDAQ:UBCP) versus Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) Head to Head Comparison

Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) and United Bancorp (NASDAQ:UBCP) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation and earnings.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Great Southern Bancorp and United Bancorp”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Great Southern Bancorp	$342.78 million	2.53	$70.97 million	$6.02	13.22
United Bancorp	$47.51 million	1.89	$7.75 million	$1.38	11.35

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

41.7% of Great Southern Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 15.4% of United Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 29.7% of Great Southern Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 13.9% of United Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Great Southern Bancorp and United Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Great Southern Bancorp	20.72%	10.83%	1.22%
United Bancorp	16.55%	11.53%	0.92%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Great Southern Bancorp and United Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Great Southern Bancorp	0	2	1	0	2.33
United Bancorp	0	0	1	0	3.00

Great Southern Bancorp currently has a consensus price target of $74.00, indicating a potential downside of 7.05%. Given Great Southern Bancorp’s higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Great Southern Bancorp is more favorable than United Bancorp.

Dividends

Great Southern Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. United Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.78 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.0%. Great Southern Bancorp pays out 28.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. United Bancorp pays out 56.5% 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. United Bancorp has increased its dividend for 13 consecutive years. United Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Volatility and Risk

Great Southern Bancorp has a beta of 0.48, meaning that its share price is 52% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, United Bancorp has a beta of 0.32, meaning that its share price is 68% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Great Southern Bancorp beats United Bancorp on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Great Southern Bancorp

Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for Great Southern Bank that provides a range of financial services in the United States. Its deposit products include regular savings accounts, checking accounts, money market accounts, fixed interest rate certificates with varying maturities, certificates of deposit, brokered certificates, and individual retirement accounts. The company's loan portfolio comprises residential and commercial real estate loans, commercial business loans, construction loans, home improvement loans, and unsecured consumer loans, as well as secured consumer loans, such as automobile loans, boat loans, home equity loans, and loans secured by savings deposits. It also provides insurance and merchant banking services. The company was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in Springfield, Missouri.

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.