Head to Head Survey: United Bancorporation of Alabama (OTCMKTS:UBAB) and Bank of China (OTCMKTS:BACHY)

Bank of China (OTCMKTS:BACHY) and United Bancorporation of Alabama (OTCMKTS:UBAB) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and valuation.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Bank of China	20.44%	7.88%	0.68%
United Bancorporation of Alabama	23.54%	14.40%	1.49%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Bank of China and United Bancorporation of Alabama, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Bank of China	0	1	0	0	2.00
United Bancorporation of Alabama	0	1	0	0	2.00

Institutional & Insider Ownership

5.5% of United Bancorporation of Alabama shares are owned by institutional investors. 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.

Volatility and Risk

Bank of China has a beta of 0.08, suggesting that its share price is 92% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, United Bancorporation of Alabama has a beta of 0.44, suggesting that its share price is 56% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Bank of China	$169.73 billion	1.44	$33.81 billion	$2.61	7.27
United Bancorporation of Alabama	$89.83 million	2.17	$19.67 million	$6.15	10.34

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

Dividends

Bank of China pays an annual dividend of $0.63 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. United Bancorporation of Alabama pays an annual dividend of $1.42 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Bank of China pays out 24.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. United Bancorporation of Alabama pays out 23.1% 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.

Summary

United Bancorporation of Alabama beats Bank of China on 9 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Bank of China

Bank of China Limited, together with its subsidiaries, provides various banking and financial services in Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and internationally. It operates through six segments: Corporate Banking, Personal Banking, Treasury Operations, Investment Banking, Insurance, and Other. The Corporate Banking segment provides current accounts, deposits, overdrafts, loans, payments and settlements, trade-related products, and other credit facilities, as well as foreign currency, derivative, and wealth management products for corporate customers, government authorities, and financial institutions. The Personal Banking segment offers savings deposits, personal loans, credit cards and debit cards, payments and settlements, wealth management, and funds and insurance agency services to retail customers. The Treasury Operations segment offers foreign exchange transactions, customer-based interest rate, and foreign exchange derivative transactions, as well as money market transactions, proprietary trading, and asset and liability management. The Investment Banking segment provides debt and equity underwriting and financial advisory, sale and trading of securities, stock brokerage, investment research, asset management services, and private equity investment services. The Insurance segment provides underwriting services for general and life insurance business, and insurance agency services. In addition, the company operates debt-to-equity swaps and other supporting, and aircraft and financial leasing business. The company was founded in 1912 and is headquartered in Beijing, China.

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.