United Bancorporation of Alabama (OTCMKTS:UBAB) & Bank of South Carolina (NASDAQ:BKSC) Critical Analysis

Risk and Volatility

United Bancorporation of Alabama has a beta of 0.33, indicating that its share price is 67% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bank of South Carolina has a beta of 0.43, indicating that its share price is 57% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares United Bancorporation of Alabama and Bank of South Carolina’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
United Bancorporation of Alabama	31.02%	19.42%	1.93%
Bank of South Carolina	23.42%	13.59%	1.14%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

5.5% of United Bancorporation of Alabama shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.2% of Bank of South Carolina shares are held by institutional investors. 29.8% of Bank of South Carolina shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares United Bancorporation of Alabama and Bank of South Carolina”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
United Bancorporation of Alabama	$87.26 million	2.03	$26.90 million	$7.58	6.94
Bank of South Carolina	$21.16 million	3.46	$6.75 million	$1.23	10.97

United Bancorporation of Alabama has higher revenue and earnings than Bank of South Carolina. United Bancorporation of Alabama is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Bank of South Carolina, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

United Bancorporation of Alabama pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. Bank of South Carolina pays an annual dividend of $0.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.6%. United Bancorporation of Alabama pays out 15.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Bank of South Carolina pays out 61.8% 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.

Summary

United Bancorporation of Alabama beats Bank of South Carolina on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About United Bancorporation of Alabama

United Bancorporation of Alabama, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for United Bank that provides banking services. The company offers checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, individual retirement accounts, small business programs, business solutions, merchant services, and cash management services. It also provides various lending services, such as personal loans, business loans, lines of credit, and equipment loans; real estate loans for the agricultural community and working lines of credit; and overdraft services. In addition, the company offers debit cards, prepaid cards, Visa credit cards, gift cards, and safe deposit boxes. Further, it provides check cashing, convenience, remote deposit, mobile check deposit, personal storage compartments, Web payment options, insurance products, investment and brokerage, and online and mobile banking services. United Bancorporation of Alabama, Inc. was founded in 1904 and is based in Atmore, Alabama.

About Bank of South Carolina

Bank of South Carolina Corporation operates as a bank holding company for The Bank of South Carolina that provides a range of financial products and services primarily in Charleston, Berkeley, and Dorchester counties of South Carolina. Its deposits include non-interest-bearing demand accounts, NOW accounts, money market accounts, time deposits, and savings accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company offers secured and unsecured commercial loans, commercial real estate construction loans, consumer construction loans, home equity lines of credit, and mortgage originations, as well as paycheck protection program loans. It operates five banking house locations. The company was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina.