Reviewing Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania (NASDAQ:UVSP) & Chemung Financial (NASDAQ:CHMG)

Chemung Financial (NASDAQ:CHMG) and Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania (NASDAQ:UVSP) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, earnings, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation and institutional ownership.

Risk & Volatility

Chemung Financial has a beta of 0.58, indicating that its share price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania has a beta of 0.67, indicating that its share price is 33% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

47.5% of Chemung Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 75.1% of Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania shares are owned by institutional investors. 12.7% of Chemung Financial shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.8% of Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Chemung Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania pays an annual dividend of $0.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Chemung Financial pays out 18.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania pays out 26.6% 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. Chemung Financial has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Chemung Financial and Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Chemung Financial	0	3	4	0	2.57
Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania	0	3	0	1	2.50

Chemung Financial presently has a consensus price target of $88.75, indicating a potential upside of 4.15%. Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania has a consensus price target of $40.50, indicating a potential downside of 4.48%. Given Chemung Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Chemung Financial is more favorable than Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania.

Profitability

This table compares Chemung Financial and Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Chemung Financial	23.36%	14.64%	1.39%
Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania	18.86%	10.41%	1.18%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Chemung Financial and Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Chemung Financial	$140.78 million	2.92	$15.10 million	$7.97	10.69
Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania	$518.35 million	2.26	$90.76 million	$3.46	12.25

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

Summary

Chemung Financial beats Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Chemung Financial

Chemung Financial Corporation operates as a bank holding company for Chemung Canal Trust Company that provides a range of banking, financing, fiduciary, and other financial services. The company provides demand, savings, and time deposits; non-interest and interest-bearing checking accounts; and insured money market accounts. It also offers commercial and agricultural loans comprising loans to small to mid-sized businesses; commercial and residential mortgage loans; and consumer loans, including home equity lines of credit and home equity term loans. In addition, the company provides interest rate swaps, letters of credit, employee benefit plans, insurance products, mutual fund, brokerage, and tax preparation services. Further, it offers guardian, custodian, trustee, investment, pension, estate planning, and employee benefit administrative services, as well as acts as an agent for pension, profit-sharing, and other employee benefit trusts. Chemung Financial Corporation was founded in 1833 and is headquartered in Elmira, New York.

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.