PCB Bancorp (NASDAQ:PCB) vs. United Bancorp (NASDAQ:UBCP) Critical Review

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
PCB Bancorp	18.97%	11.25%	1.18%
United Bancorp	21.88%	15.32%	1.08%

Risk & Volatility

PCB Bancorp has a beta of 0.63, indicating that its share price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, United Bancorp has a beta of 0.36, indicating that its share price is 64% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares PCB Bancorp and United Bancorp’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
PCB Bancorp	$161.86 million	1.34	$30.70 million	$2.12	7.19
United Bancorp	$40.90 million	1.81	$8.95 million	$1.57	8.27

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

Dividends

PCB Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.7%. United Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.69 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.3%. PCB Bancorp pays out 34.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. United Bancorp pays out 43.9% 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. PCB Bancorp has increased its dividend for 5 consecutive years and United Bancorp has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for PCB Bancorp and United Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

33.0% of PCB Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 15.4% of United Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 25.7% of PCB Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 11.7% of United Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

PCB Bancorp beats United Bancorp on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About PCB Bancorp

PCB Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for PCB Bank that provides various banking products and services to small to medium-sized businesses, individuals, and professionals in Southern California. The company offers demand, savings, money market, and time deposits, as well as certificates of deposit; and trade finance, remote deposit capture, courier deposit services, positive pay services, zero balance accounts, and sweep accounts. It also provides real estate loans, including commercial and residential, Small Business Administration (SBA) property, and construction loans; commercial and industrial loans, such as commercial term and lines of credit, SBA commercial term, and SBA Paycheck Protection Program loans; and consumer loans comprising residential mortgage; and automobile loans, unsecured lines of credit, and term loans. In addition, the company offers access to account balances, online transfers, and online bill payment and electronic delivery of customer statements; and mobile banking solutions that include remote check deposit and mobile bill pay. Further, it provides automated teller machines; and banking by telephone, mail, personal appointment, debit cards, direct deposit, and cashier's checks, as well as treasury management, wire transfer, and automated clearing house services. The company operates through a network of full-service branches in Los Angeles and Orange counties, California; Carrollton and Dallas, Texas; and Englewood Cliffs and Palisade Park, New Jersey, and Bayside, New York. It also operates loan production offices in Los Angeles and Orange Counties, California; Annandale, Virginia; Atlanta, Georgia; Bellevue, Washington; Aurora, Colorado; and Carrollton, Texas. The company was formerly known as Pacific City Financial Corporation and changed its name to PCB Bancorp in July 2019. PCB Bancorp was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.

About United Bancorp

United Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Unified Bank that provides commercial and retail banking services in Ohio. It provides range of banking and financial services, which includes accepting demand, savings, and time deposits; and offers commercial, real estate and consumer loans. United Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Martins Ferry, Ohio.