Univest Financial (NASDAQ:UVSP) versus ConnectOne Bancorp (NASDAQ:CNOB) Critical Survey

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

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Univest Financial and ConnectOne Bancorp’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Univest Financial	$292.73 million	2.83	$71.10 million	$2.39	11.84
ConnectOne Bancorp	$261.94 million	3.57	$87.00 million	$1.89	12.92

ConnectOne Bancorp has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Univest Financial. Univest Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than ConnectOne Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

75.1% of Univest Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 67.7% of ConnectOne Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 2.1% of Univest Financial shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 6.4% of ConnectOne Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Univest Financial and ConnectOne Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Univest Financial	0	2	0	0	2.00
ConnectOne Bancorp	0	1	2	1	3.00

Univest Financial currently has a consensus target price of $26.50, suggesting a potential downside of 6.33%. ConnectOne Bancorp has a consensus target price of $25.00, suggesting a potential upside of 2.38%. Given ConnectOne Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe ConnectOne Bancorp is more favorable than Univest Financial.

Dividends

Univest Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. ConnectOne Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Univest Financial pays out 35.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. ConnectOne Bancorp pays out 38.1% 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. Univest Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Profitability

This table compares Univest Financial and ConnectOne Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Univest Financial	14.91%	8.23%	0.88%
ConnectOne Bancorp	14.56%	7.13%	0.80%

Risk & Volatility

Univest Financial has a beta of 0.86, indicating that its stock price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ConnectOne Bancorp has a beta of 1.27, indicating that its stock price is 27% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

ConnectOne Bancorp beats Univest Financial on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Univest Financial

Univest Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Univest Bank and Trust Co. that provides banking products and services primarily in the United States. It operates through three segments: Banking, Wealth Management, and Insurance. The Banking segment offers a range of banking services, such as deposit taking, loan origination and servicing, mortgage banking, other general banking, and equipment lease financing services for individuals, businesses, municipalities, and nonprofit organizations. Its Wealth Management segment provides investment advisory, financial planning, and trust and brokerage services for private families and individuals, municipal pension plans, retirement plans, and trusts and guardianships. The Insurance segment offers commercial property and casualty insurance, employee benefits solutions, personal insurance lines, and human resources consulting services. The company was formerly known as Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania and changed its name to Univest Financial Corporation in January 2019. The company was founded in 1876 and is headquartered in Souderton, Pennsylvania.

About ConnectOne Bancorp

ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for ConnectOne Bank that provides commercial banking products and services for small and mid-sized businesses, local professionals, and individuals in the New York Metropolitan area and South Florida market. The company offers personal and business checking, money market, and time and savings accounts; credit cards, wire transfers, safe deposit boxes, automated teller services and telephone, and internet and mobile banking. It provides retirement accounts, consumers and cash management services for business clients, including treasury direct, automated clearing house, remote deposit capture, and digital invoicing. In addition, the company offers consumer and commercial business loans, including lines of credit, commercial and residential mortgages, home equity and bridge loans, and other personal loans; commercial loans secured by collateral, such as business assets comprising accounts receivable, inventory and equipment, and mortgages filed on commercial and residential real estate, as well as cash balances and marketable securities. Further, it provides real estate loans, which includes loans secured by first liens on completed commercial properties, including multi-family properties, to purchase or refinance properties; residential mortgages, such as loans secured by first liens on 1-4 family and condominium; and cooperative residential real estate loans. The company was formerly known as Center Bancorp, Inc. and changed its name to ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. in July 2014. ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. was incorporated in 1982 and is headquartered in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.