Union Bankshares (UNB) Competitors

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) and Union Bankshares (NASDAQ:UNB) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, dividends, profitability, earnings, media sentiment, valuation and institutional ownership.

Do analysts recommend PFIS or UNB?

Peoples Financial Services presently has a consensus target price of $53.00, suggesting a potential upside of 9.12%. Given Peoples Financial Services' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Peoples Financial Services is more favorable than Union Bankshares.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Peoples Financial Services	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50
Union Bankshares	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00

Does the media prefer PFIS or UNB?

In the previous week, Peoples Financial Services had 1 more articles in the media than Union Bankshares. MarketBeat recorded 3 mentions for Peoples Financial Services and 2 mentions for Union Bankshares. Peoples Financial Services' average media sentiment score of 0.85 beat Union Bankshares' score of 0.00 indicating that Peoples Financial Services is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Peoples Financial Services	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Union Bankshares	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Which has more risk & volatility, PFIS or UNB?

Peoples Financial Services has a beta of 0.76, suggesting that its stock price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Union Bankshares has a beta of 0.57, suggesting that its stock price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is PFIS or UNB more profitable?

Union Bankshares has a net margin of 11.00% compared to Peoples Financial Services' net margin of 7.83%. Union Bankshares' return on equity of 12.93% beat Peoples Financial Services' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Peoples Financial Services	7.83%	10.37%	0.96%
Union Bankshares	11.00%	12.93%	0.59%

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in PFIS or UNB?

31.7% of Peoples Financial Services shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 14.8% of Union Bankshares shares are held by institutional investors. 8.0% of Peoples Financial Services shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.8% of Union Bankshares shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Is PFIS or UNB a better dividend stock?

Peoples Financial Services pays an annual dividend of $2.47 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.1%. Union Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $1.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.4%. Peoples Financial Services pays out 116.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Union Bankshares pays out 73.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Peoples Financial Services has raised its dividend for 8 consecutive years. Union Bankshares is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Which has stronger earnings and valuation, PFIS or UNB?

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

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Peoples Financial Services	$229.80M	2.11	$8.50M	$2.13	22.80
Union Bankshares	$77.68M	1.57	$8.76M	$1.96	13.68

Summary

Peoples Financial Services beats Union Bankshares on 14 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.