Head-To-Head Analysis: First Hawaiian (NASDAQ:FHB) & United Security Bancshares (NASDAQ:UBFO)

First Hawaiian (NASDAQ:FHB) and United Security Bancshares (NASDAQ:UBFO) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation and profitability.

Dividends

First Hawaiian pays an annual dividend of $1.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. United Security Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.7%. First Hawaiian pays out 53.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. United Security Bancshares pays out 72.7% 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 Security Bancshares has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years. United Security Bancshares is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Risk & Volatility

First Hawaiian has a beta of 0.84, meaning that its stock price is 16% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, United Security Bancshares has a beta of 0.39, meaning that its stock price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for First Hawaiian and United Security Bancshares, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Hawaiian	4	3	0	0	1.43
United Security Bancshares	0	0	0	0	0.00

First Hawaiian presently has a consensus price target of $27.6429, indicating a potential upside of 14.99%. Given First Hawaiian’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe First Hawaiian is more favorable than United Security Bancshares.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares First Hawaiian and United Security Bancshares”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Hawaiian	$1.17 billion	2.59	$230.13 million	$1.94	12.39
United Security Bancshares	$65.46 million	2.23	$14.78 million	$0.66	12.67

First Hawaiian has higher revenue and earnings than United Security Bancshares. First Hawaiian is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than United Security Bancshares, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

97.6% of First Hawaiian shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 30.9% of United Security Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.6% of First Hawaiian shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 22.1% of United Security Bancshares shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares First Hawaiian and United Security Bancshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Hawaiian	21.45%	9.29%	1.04%
United Security Bancshares	17.07%	8.46%	0.92%

Summary

First Hawaiian beats United Security Bancshares on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About First Hawaiian

First Hawaiian, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for First Hawaiian Bank that provides a range of banking products and services to consumer and commercial customers in the United States. It operates in three segments: Retail Banking, Commercial Banking, and Treasury and Other. The company offers various deposit products, including checking, savings, and time deposit accounts, and other deposit accounts. It also provides residential and commercial mortgage loans, home equity lines of credit and loans, automobile loans and leases, secured and unsecured lines of credit, installment loans, small business loans and leases, and construction lending, as well as commercial lease and auto dealer financing. In addition, the company offers wealth management, personal installment, individual investment and financial planning, insurance protection, trust and estate, private banking, investment management, retirement planning, and merchant processing services, as well as consumer and commercial credit cards. The company was formerly known as BancWest Corporation and changed its name to First Hawaiian, Inc. in April 2016. First Hawaiian, Inc. was founded in 1858 and is headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii.

About United Security Bancshares

United Security Bancshares operates as the bank holding company for United Security Bank, a state-chartered bank that provides a range of commercial banking services to the business and professional community, and individuals in California. The company accepts various deposit products, including personal and business checking accounts, savings accounts, interest-bearing negotiable order of withdrawal accounts, money market accounts, and time certificates of deposit. It also provides real estate mortgage, commercial and industrial, real estate construction and development, and consumer loans, as well as agricultural, installment, and student loans. In addition, the company offers online and mobile banking, safe deposit boxes, wire transfers, payroll direct deposit, cashier's check, cash management, and foreign draft services, as well as interactive teller machines; and person-to-person and bank-to-bank transfers for consumer customers. United Security Bancshares was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Fresno, California.