Union Bankshares (NASDAQ:UNB – Get Free Report) and Freedom Financial (OTCMKTS:FDVA – Get Free Report) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends, earnings and valuation.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Union Bankshares and Freedom Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Union Bankshares | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
| Freedom Financial | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
Volatility & Risk
Union Bankshares has a beta of 0.3, indicating that its stock price is 70% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Freedom Financial has a beta of 0.08, indicating that its stock price is 92% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Union Bankshares | 13.13% | 14.94% | 0.74% |
| Freedom Financial | -0.78% | -0.57% | -0.05% |
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Union Bankshares and Freedom Financial”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Union Bankshares | $86.06 million | 1.25 | $11.08 million | $2.53 | 9.19 |
| Freedom Financial | $63.61 million | 1.35 | $380,000.00 | ($0.07) | -172.86 |
Union Bankshares has higher revenue and earnings than Freedom Financial. Freedom Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Union Bankshares, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
14.8% of Union Bankshares shares are held by institutional investors. 2.1% of Union Bankshares shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 13.3% of Freedom Financial shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Summary
Union Bankshares beats Freedom Financial on 10 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Union Bankshares
Union Bankshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Union Bank that provides retail, commercial, and municipal banking products and services in northern Vermont and New Hampshire. It offers retail depository services, such as personal checking, savings, money market, IRA/SEP/KEOGH, and health savings accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company also provides commercial real estate loans; commercial loans for plant and equipment, working capital, real estate renovation, and other business purposes to business owners and investors; small business administration guaranteed loans; residential construction and mortgage loans; municipal financing, including loans and excess deposits secured by FHLBB letters of credit; and home improvement loans and overdraft checking privileges against preauthorized lines of credit. In addition, it offers online cash management services, including account reconciliation, credit card depository, automated clearing house origination, wire transfers, positive pay and night depository services; merchant credit card services for the deposit and immediate credit of sales drafts; remote deposit capture services; and online mortgage application and consumer deposit account opening services. Further, the company provides business checking accounts; standby letters of credit, bank checks or money orders, and safe deposit boxes; ATM cards and services; debit cards; telephone, internet, and mobile banking services, including bill pay; and wealth management, fiduciary, and trust services. It offers retail banking services to individuals; and commercial banking services to small and medium sized business corporations, limited liability companies, partnerships, and sole proprietorships, as well as nonprofit organizations, local municipalities, and school districts. Union Bankshares, Inc. was founded in 1891 and is headquartered in Morrisville, Vermont.
About Freedom Financial
Freedom Financial Holdings, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for The Freedom Bank of Virginia that provides commercial banking, personal banking, and mortgage banking solutions. The company offers personal and business checking accounts, interest bearing business savings accounts, money market accounts, personal savings accounts, certificates of deposits, and IRAs, as well as insured cash sweep and certificate of deposit account registry services. It also provides business term, personal, and mortgage loans; commercial lines of credit; commercial real estate mortgage and small business lending services; home equity lines; and credit cards. In addition, the company offers treasury management, online and mobile banking, remote deposit capture, ACH, and wire transfer services; business valuation, bank-at-work, and merchant services; and prestige banking services. The company was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia.
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