First Hawaiian (NASDAQ:FHB) versus United Bancorporation of Alabama (OTCMKTS:UBAB) Head-To-Head Contrast

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

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares United Bancorporation of Alabama and First Hawaiian”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
United Bancorporation of Alabama	$87.26 million	1.98	$26.90 million	$7.25	7.07
First Hawaiian	$780.50 million	3.90	$230.13 million	$1.84	13.16

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

5.5% of United Bancorporation of Alabama shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.6% of First Hawaiian shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.6% of First Hawaiian shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
United Bancorporation of Alabama	31.02%	19.42%	1.93%
First Hawaiian	19.74%	8.91%	0.96%

Dividends

United Bancorporation of Alabama pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. First Hawaiian pays an annual dividend of $1.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. United Bancorporation of Alabama pays out 16.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Hawaiian 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.

Volatility & Risk

United Bancorporation of Alabama has a beta of 0.45, meaning that its stock price is 55% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Hawaiian has a beta of 0.83, meaning that its stock price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for United Bancorporation of Alabama and First Hawaiian, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
United Bancorporation of Alabama	0	0	0	0	0.00
First Hawaiian	3	4	0	0	1.57

First Hawaiian has a consensus target price of $27.29, indicating a potential upside of 12.66%. Given First Hawaiian’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe First Hawaiian is more favorable than United Bancorporation of Alabama.

Summary

First Hawaiian beats United Bancorporation of Alabama on 10 of the 15 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 First Hawaiian

First Hawaiian, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for First Hawaiian Bank that provides a range of banking products and services to consumer and commercial customers in the United States. It operates in three segments: Retail Banking, Commercial Banking, and Treasury and Other. The company offers various deposit products, including checking, savings, and time deposit accounts, and other deposit accounts. It also provides residential and commercial mortgage loans, home equity lines of credit and loans, automobile loans and leases, secured and unsecured lines of credit, installment loans, small business loans and leases, and construction lending, as well as commercial lease and auto dealer financing. In addition, the company offers wealth management, personal installment, individual investment and financial planning, insurance protection, trust and estate, private banking, investment management, retirement planning, and merchant processing services, as well as consumer and commercial credit cards. The company was formerly known as BancWest Corporation and changed its name to First Hawaiian, Inc. in April 2016. First Hawaiian, Inc. was founded in 1858 and is headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii.