Reviewing United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI) and Citizens Bancshares (OTCMKTS:CZBS)

United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI) and Citizens Bancshares (OTCMKTS:CZBS) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations and risk.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for United Bankshares and Citizens Bancshares, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
United Bankshares	0	3	3	0	2.50
Citizens Bancshares	0	0	0	0	0.00

United Bankshares presently has a consensus target price of $45.75, suggesting a potential upside of 5.39%. Given United Bankshares’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe United Bankshares is more favorable than Citizens Bancshares.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

70.8% of United Bankshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.2% of United Bankshares shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 10.2% of Citizens Bancshares shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares United Bankshares and Citizens Bancshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
United Bankshares	27.45%	9.26%	1.51%
Citizens Bancshares	N/A	N/A	N/A

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares United Bankshares and Citizens Bancshares”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
United Bankshares	$1.26 billion	4.74	$464.60 million	$3.57	12.16
Citizens Bancshares	$44.60 million	2.04	$10.59 million	N/A	N/A

United Bankshares has higher revenue and earnings than Citizens Bancshares.

Dividends

United Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $1.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Citizens Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. United Bankshares pays out 42.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. United Bankshares has raised 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

United Bankshares has a beta of 0.72, suggesting that its stock price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Citizens Bancshares has a beta of 0.29, suggesting that its stock price is 71% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

United Bankshares beats Citizens Bancshares on 13 of the 15 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 Citizens Bancshares

Citizens Bancshares Corporation operates as the holding company for Citizens Trust Bank that provides various commercial banking services to individual and corporate customers. The company offers checking and savings accounts; and demand and money market deposits. Its loan products include commercial, financial, and agricultural loans; loans secured by personal property, such as automobiles, marketable securities, and other titled recreational vehicles and motorcycles, as well as unsecured consumer debt; commercial real estate loans; single-family residential loans; and construction and development loans. The company also offers investment accounts and certificate of deposit account registry services. In addition, it provides merchant services, which include point of sale terminal, credit and debit card processing, electronic benefits transfer, gift card, and Internet shopping cart services; cash management services; and credit cards. Further, the company offers online and mobile banking, as well as check reorder services. Citizens Bancshares Corporation was founded in 1921 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.