Financial Survey: Community Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:CTBI) and United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI)

Community Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:CTBI) and United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings and profitability.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Community Trust Bancorp and United Bankshares”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Community Trust Bancorp	$409.34 million	3.08	$98.06 million	$6.08	11.41
United Bankshares	$1.82 billion	3.63	$464.60 million	$3.69	13.14

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

Dividends

Community Trust Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $2.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. United Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $1.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Community Trust Bancorp pays out 42.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. United Bankshares pays out 41.2% 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. Community Trust Bancorp has raised its dividend for 44 consecutive years and United Bankshares has raised its dividend for 26 consecutive years. Community Trust Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for Community Trust Bancorp and United Bankshares, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Community Trust Bancorp	0	2	1	1	2.75
United Bankshares	0	4	3	0	2.43

Community Trust Bancorp presently has a consensus price target of $78.50, indicating a potential upside of 13.14%. United Bankshares has a consensus price target of $49.20, indicating a potential upside of 1.51%. Given Community Trust Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Community Trust Bancorp is more favorable than United Bankshares.

Volatility & Risk

Community Trust Bancorp has a beta of 0.56, indicating that its share price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, United Bankshares has a beta of 0.73, indicating that its share price is 27% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Community Trust Bancorp and United Bankshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Community Trust Bancorp	25.48%	12.60%	1.62%
United Bankshares	28.03%	9.37%	1.52%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

60.2% of Community Trust Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 70.8% of United Bankshares shares are held by institutional investors. 2.6% of Community Trust Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.2% of United Bankshares shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

United Bankshares beats Community Trust Bancorp on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Community Trust Bancorp

Community Trust Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Community Trust Bank, Inc. that engages in the provision of commercial and personal banking, and trust and wealth management services to small and mid-sized communities in eastern, northeastern, central, and south-central Kentucky, as well as southern West Virginia, and northeastern Tennessee. The company accepts time and demand deposits, checking accounts, savings accounts and savings certificates, individual retirement accounts and Keogh plans, and money market accounts. Its loan portfolio includes commercial, construction, mortgage, and personal loans; lease-financing, lines of credit, revolving lines of credit, and term loans, as well as other specialized loans, including asset-based financing; residential and commercial real estate loans; and consumer loans. The company also provides cash management, renting safe deposit boxes, and funds transfer services; issues letters of credit; and acts as a trustee of personal trusts, executor of estates, trustee for employee benefit trusts, and paying agent for bond and stock issues, as well as an investment agent and depositor for securities. In addition, it offers securities brokerage services; debit cards; annuity and life insurance products; and repurchase agreements, as well as mobile, internet banking, and e-statement services. The company was founded in 1903 and is headquartered in Pikeville, Kentucky.

About United Bankshares

United Bankshares, Inc., through its subsidiaries, primarily provides commercial and retail banking products and services in the United States. It operates through two segments, Community Banking and Mortgage Banking. The company accepts checking, savings, and time and money market accounts; individual retirement accounts; and demand deposits, statement and special savings, and NOW accounts. Its loan products include commercial loans and leases to small to mid-size industrial and commercial companies; construction and real estate loans, such as commercial and residential mortgages, and loans secured by owner-occupied real estate; personal, student, credit card receivables, personal, commercial, and floor plan loans; and home equity loans. In addition, the company provides credit cards; safe deposit boxes, wire transfers, and other banking products and services; investment and security services; services to correspondent banks, including buying and selling federal funds; automated teller machine services; and internet and telephone banking services. Further, it offers community banking services, such as asset management, real property title insurance, financial planning, mortgage banking, and brokerage services, as well as investment management and retirement planning services. United Bankshares, Inc. was incorporated in 1982 and is headquartered in Charleston, West Virginia.