Head to Head Review: Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania (NASDAQ:UVSP) vs. Ohio Valley Banc (NASDAQ:OVBC)

Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania (NASDAQ:UVSP) and Ohio Valley Banc (NASDAQ:OVBC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, earnings and risk.

Dividends

Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania pays an annual dividend of $0.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Ohio Valley Banc pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania pays out 26.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Ohio Valley Banc pays out 33.2% 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 Corporation of Pennsylvania has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Ohio Valley Banc has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years. Ohio Valley Banc is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania and Ohio Valley Banc, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania	0	2	0	2	3.00
Ohio Valley Banc	0	0	1	0	3.00

Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania currently has a consensus target price of $40.50, suggesting a potential downside of 5.24%. Given Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania is more favorable than Ohio Valley Banc.

Profitability

This table compares Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania and Ohio Valley Banc’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania	18.86%	10.41%	1.18%
Ohio Valley Banc	14.31%	8.37%	0.88%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

75.1% of Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 22.1% of Ohio Valley Banc shares are held by institutional investors. 1.8% of Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 7.2% of Ohio Valley Banc shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania and Ohio Valley Banc”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania	$518.35 million	2.27	$90.76 million	$3.46	12.35
Ohio Valley Banc	$94.21 million	2.32	$15.60 million	$3.01	15.41

Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania has higher revenue and earnings than Ohio Valley Banc. Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ohio Valley Banc, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk & Volatility

Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania has a beta of 0.65, indicating that its share price is 35% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ohio Valley Banc has a beta of 0.04, indicating that its share price is 96% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania beats Ohio Valley Banc on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania

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 Ohio Valley Banc

Ohio Valley Banc Corp. operates as the bank holding company for The Ohio Valley Bank Company that provides commercial and consumer banking products and services. The company operates in two segments, Banking and Consumer Finance. It accepts various deposit products, including checking, savings, time, and money market accounts, as well as individual retirement accounts, demand deposits, NOW accounts, and certificates of deposit. The company also provides various residential real estate loans, including one-to four-family residential mortgages; commercial loans for securing equipment, inventory, stock, commercial real estate, and rental property; and consumer loans secured by automobiles, mobile homes, recreational vehicles, and other personal property, as well as personal loans, unsecured credit card receivables, floor plan and student loans, and construction loans. In addition, it offers safe deposit box, wire transfer, credit card, home equity loans, and Internet banking services; and financial management online services, such as cash management and news updates related to repossession auctions, current rates, and general bank news. Further, the company provides automatic teller machines (ATMs), consumer finance, seasonal tax preparation, commercial property, and various liability insurance services, as well as trust and online-only consumer direct mortgage services. The company owns and operates ATMs, including off-site ATMs. It operates offices in Ohio and West Virginia. The company was founded in 1872 and is based in Gallipolis, Ohio.