United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI) vs. Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) Head to Head Review

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) and United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, risk, dividends and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Banco Santander and United Bankshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Banco Santander	26.94%	12.43%	0.75%
United Bankshares	27.97%	9.39%	1.53%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

9.2% of Banco Santander shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 70.8% of United Bankshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 9.5% of Banco Santander shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.2% of United Bankshares 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.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for Banco Santander and United Bankshares, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Banco Santander	0	2	11	1	2.93
United Bankshares	0	4	3	0	2.43

Banco Santander presently has a consensus target price of $15.10, suggesting a potential upside of 11.98%. United Bankshares has a consensus target price of $47.80, suggesting a potential upside of 5.15%. Given Banco Santander’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Banco Santander is more favorable than United Bankshares.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Banco Santander and United Bankshares”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Banco Santander	$66.36 billion	2.98	$15.95 billion	$1.23	10.96
United Bankshares	$1.82 billion	3.40	$464.60 million	$3.67	12.39

Banco Santander has higher revenue and earnings than United Bankshares. Banco Santander 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

Banco Santander pays an annual dividend of $0.21 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. United Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $1.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Banco Santander pays out 17.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. United Bankshares pays out 41.4% 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 increased its dividend for 26 consecutive years. United Bankshares is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Risk & Volatility

Banco Santander has a beta of 0.74, suggesting that its share price is 26% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, United Bankshares has a beta of 0.72, suggesting that its share price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Banco Santander beats United Bankshares on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Banco Santander

Banco Santander, S.A. provides various financial services worldwide. The company operates through Retail Banking, Santander Corporate & Investment Banking, Wealth Management & Insurance, and PagoNxt segments. It offers demand and time deposits, mutual funds, and current and savings accounts; mortgages, consumer finance, loans, and various financing solutions; and project finance, debt capital markets, global transaction banking, and corporate finance services. The company also provides asset management and private banking services; and insurance products. In addition, it offers corporate and investment banking services; and digital payment solutions. Further, it offers online banking and financial services to retail, business, institutional, corporate, private banking and university customers and clients. The company was formerly known as Banco Santander Central Hispano SA and changed its name to Banco Santander, S.A. in February 2007. Banco Santander, S.A. was founded in 1856 and is headquartered in Madrid, Spain.

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.