Head to Head Review: Mechanics Bancorp (NASDAQ:MCHB) versus Union Bankshares (NASDAQ:UNB)

Union Bankshares (NASDAQ:UNB) and Mechanics Bancorp (NASDAQ:MCHB) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation and risk.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Union Bankshares and Mechanics Bancorp”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Union Bankshares	$57.36 million	1.96	$11.08 million	$2.63	8.65
Mechanics Bancorp	$1.03 billion	3.14	$265.74 million	$1.18	12.42

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for Union Bankshares and Mechanics Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Union Bankshares	0	1	0	0	2.00
Mechanics Bancorp	1	2	3	0	2.33

Mechanics Bancorp has a consensus target price of $16.50, suggesting a potential upside of 12.63%. Given Mechanics Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Mechanics Bancorp is more favorable than Union Bankshares.

Dividends

Union Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $1.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.3%. Mechanics Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.8%. Union Bankshares pays out 54.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Mechanics Bancorp pays out 84.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Volatility and Risk

Union Bankshares has a beta of 0.29, suggesting that its stock price is 71% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Mechanics Bancorp has a beta of 1.41, suggesting that its stock price is 41% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

14.8% of Union Bankshares shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 74.7% of Mechanics Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 2.1% of Union Bankshares shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 81.6% of Mechanics Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Union Bankshares and Mechanics Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Union Bankshares	12.68%	14.82%	0.78%
Mechanics Bancorp	24.16%	11.41%	1.48%

Summary

Mechanics Bancorp beats Union Bankshares on 13 of the 16 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 Mechanics Bancorp

HomeStreet, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for HomeStreet Bank that provides commercial, mortgage, and consumer/retail banking services primarily in the Western United States. The company offers personal and business checking, savings accounts, interest-bearing negotiable order of withdrawal accounts, money market accounts, and time certificates of deposit; credit cards; insurance; and treasury management products and services. Its loan products include commercial business and agriculture loans, single family residential mortgages, consumer loans, commercial loans secured by residential and commercial real estate, and construction loans for residential and commercial real estate development, as well as consumer installment loans and permanent loans on commercial real estate and single-family residences. In addition, the company offers its products and services through bank branches, loan production offices, and ATMs, as well as through online, mobile, and telephone banking. As of December 31, 2021, it operated 60 full-service bank branches located in Washington state, Northern and Southern California, the Portland, Oregon, and Hawaii; and five primary stand-alone commercial lending centers in Central Washington, Oregon, Southern California, Idaho, and Utah. HomeStreet, Inc. serves small and medium sized businesses, real estate investors, professional firms, and individuals. The company was formerly known as Continental Mortgage and Loan Company. HomeStreet, Inc. was incorporated in 1921 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.