Contrasting Atlantic Union Bankshares (NYSE:AUB) & USCB Financial (NASDAQ:USCB)

Atlantic Union Bankshares (NYSE:AUB) and USCB Financial (NASDAQ:USCB) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Atlantic Union Bankshares and USCB Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Atlantic Union Bankshares	23.97%	10.79%	1.45%
USCB Financial	17.44%	15.76%	1.23%

Dividends

Atlantic Union Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $1.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. USCB Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.50 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Atlantic Union Bankshares pays out 40.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. USCB Financial pays out 32.9% 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. Atlantic Union Bankshares has raised its dividend for 14 consecutive years and USCB Financial has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Atlantic Union Bankshares is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

78.6% of Atlantic Union Bankshares shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 61.3% of USCB Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Atlantic Union Bankshares shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 27.4% of USCB Financial shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Atlantic Union Bankshares has a beta of 0.8, suggesting that its stock price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, USCB Financial has a beta of 0.45, suggesting that its stock price is 55% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Atlantic Union Bankshares and USCB Financial”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Atlantic Union Bankshares	$2.04 billion	2.79	$273.71 million	$3.66	10.91
USCB Financial	$159.60 million	2.31	$26.10 million	$1.52	13.15

Atlantic Union Bankshares has higher revenue and earnings than USCB Financial. Atlantic Union Bankshares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than USCB Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Atlantic Union Bankshares and USCB Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Atlantic Union Bankshares	0	3	4	0	2.57
USCB Financial	0	2	3	1	2.83

Atlantic Union Bankshares currently has a consensus target price of $45.80, suggesting a potential upside of 14.68%. USCB Financial has a consensus target price of $24.33, suggesting a potential upside of 21.73%. Given USCB Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe USCB Financial is more favorable than Atlantic Union Bankshares.

Summary

Atlantic Union Bankshares beats USCB Financial on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Atlantic Union Bankshares

Atlantic Union Bankshares Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Atlantic Union Bank that provides banking and related financial products and services to consumers and businesses in the United States. It operates in two segments, Wholesale Banking and Consumer Banking. The company accepts various deposit products, including checking, savings, time deposit, and money market accounts; certificates of deposit; and other depository services. It also provides loans for commercial, industrial, residential mortgage, and consumer purposes, as well as debit and credit cards. In addition, it provides treasury management and capital market, wealth management, private banking, trust, financial and retirement planning, brokerage, investment management, equipment finance, mortgage banking, and insurance products and services. The company offers products and services through full-service branches and ATMs, as well as through its mobile and internet banking. The company was formerly known as Union Bankshares Corporation and changed its name to Atlantic Union Bankshares Corporation in May 2019. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corporation was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Glen Allen, Virginia.

About USCB Financial

USCB Financial Holdings, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for U.S. Century Bank that engages in the provision of various personal and business banking products and services in the United States. It accepts various deposit products, including commercial and consumer checking, money market deposit, savings, and time deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. It also offers loan products, such as small business administration loans, yacht financing, residential and commercial real estate loans; commercial and industrial loans; foreign bank loans; and secured and unsecured consumer loans comprising personal loans, overdrafts, and deposit account collateralized loans. The company also offers lockbox, treasury, commercial payments, cash management, and online banking services, as well as provides title insurance policies for real estate transactions. USCB Financial Holdings, Inc. was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Miami, Florida.