Head-To-Head Survey: Community Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:CTBI) and United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI)

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

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

Profitability

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

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

Analyst Recommendations

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

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

United Bankshares presently has a consensus target price of $49.20, suggesting a potential upside of 2.03%. Community Trust Bancorp has a consensus target price of $78.50, suggesting a potential upside of 13.80%. Given Community Trust Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Community Trust Bancorp is more favorable than United Bankshares.

Risk and Volatility

United Bankshares has a beta of 0.72, suggesting that its stock price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Community Trust Bancorp has a beta of 0.54, suggesting that its stock price is 46% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

United Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $1.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Community Trust Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $2.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. United Bankshares pays out 41.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Community Trust Bancorp pays out 42.8% 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. United Bankshares has raised its dividend for 26 consecutive years and Community Trust Bancorp has raised its dividend for 44 consecutive years. Community Trust Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Valuation and Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
United Bankshares	$1.29 billion	5.11	$464.60 million	$3.69	13.07
Community Trust Bancorp	$409.34 million	3.06	$98.06 million	$6.08	11.35

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.

Summary

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

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.

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.