Byline Bancorp (NYSE:BY) vs. United Bancorp (NASDAQ:UBCP) Head to Head Review

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Byline Bancorp	19.91%	13.18%	1.41%
United Bancorp	21.47%	15.23%	1.10%

Volatility & Risk

Byline Bancorp has a beta of 1.12, indicating that its share price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, United Bancorp has a beta of 0.39, indicating that its share price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Byline Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. United Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.70 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.9%. Byline Bancorp pays out 13.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. United Bancorp pays out 44.0% 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.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Byline Bancorp and United Bancorp’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Byline Bancorp	$394.04 million	2.53	$107.88 million	$2.73	8.27
United Bancorp	$40.90 million	1.73	$8.95 million	$1.59	7.50

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

67.7% of Byline Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 15.4% of United Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 30.1% of Byline Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 11.7% of United Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Byline Bancorp and United Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Byline Bancorp	0	1	2	0	2.67
United Bancorp	0	0	0	0	N/A

Byline Bancorp presently has a consensus price target of $26.83, suggesting a potential upside of 18.84%. Given Byline Bancorp’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Byline Bancorp is more favorable than United Bancorp.

Summary

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

About Byline Bancorp

Byline Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Byline Bank that provides various banking products and services for small and medium sized businesses, commercial real estate and financial sponsors, and consumers in the United States. It offers various retail deposit products, including non-interest-bearing accounts, money market demand accounts, savings accounts, interest-bearing checking accounts, and time deposits; ATM and debit cards; and online, mobile, and text banking services, as well as commercial deposits. The company also provides term loans, revolving lines of credit, and construction financing services; senior secured financing solutions to private equity backed lower middle market companies; small business administration and united states department of agriculture loans; and treasury management products and services. In addition, it offers financing solutions for equipment vendors and their end users; syndication services; and investment, trust, and wealth management services that include fiduciary and executor services, financial planning solutions, investment advisory services, and private banking services for foundations and endowments, and high net worth individuals. The company was formerly known as Metropolitan Bank Group, Inc. and changed its name to Byline Bancorp, Inc. in 2015. Byline Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1914 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

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.