Head-To-Head Contrast: Pacific Premier Bancorp (NASDAQ:PPBI) and Univest Financial (NASDAQ:UVSP)

Pacific Premier Bancorp (NASDAQ:PPBI) and Univest Financial (NASDAQ:UVSP) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Pacific Premier Bancorp and Univest Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Pacific Premier Bancorp	17.54%	5.43%	0.87%
Univest Financial	15.17%	8.51%	0.92%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

93.1% of Pacific Premier Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 75.1% of Univest Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 2.3% of Pacific Premier Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.7% of Univest Financial shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Pacific Premier Bancorp and Univest Financial”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Pacific Premier Bancorp	$541.46 million	3.87	$158.80 million	$1.52	14.20
Univest Financial	$301.36 million	2.82	$75.93 million	$2.67	11.03

Pacific Premier Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Univest Financial. Univest Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Pacific Premier Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

Pacific Premier Bancorp has a beta of 1.18, meaning that its stock price is 18% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Univest Financial has a beta of 0.74, meaning that its stock price is 26% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Pacific Premier Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.1%. Univest Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Pacific Premier Bancorp pays out 86.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Univest Financial pays out 33.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Univest Financial has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Pacific Premier Bancorp and Univest Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Pacific Premier Bancorp	0	3	1	0	2.25
Univest Financial	0	3	0	0	2.00

Pacific Premier Bancorp presently has a consensus price target of $27.25, indicating a potential upside of 26.22%. Univest Financial has a consensus price target of $29.00, indicating a potential downside of 1.56%. Given Pacific Premier Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Pacific Premier Bancorp is more favorable than Univest Financial.

Summary

Pacific Premier Bancorp beats Univest Financial on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Pacific Premier Bancorp

Pacific Premier Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Pacific Premier Bank that provides various banking products and services in the United States. The company accepts deposit products, which includes checking, money market, savings accounts, and certificates of deposit. Its loan portfolio includes commercial real estate owner and non-owner-occupied, multifamily, construction and land, franchise real estate secured, and small business administration (SBA); revolving lines of credit, term loans, seasonal loans, and loans secured by liquid collateral; one-to-four family and home equity lines of credit loans; and small balance personal unsecured loans and savings account secured loans. It also offers cash management, online and mobile banking, and treasury management services, as well as payment processing, remote capture, and automated clearing house payment capabilities. In addition, it operates as a custodian for alternative assets held in qualified self-directed IRA accounts, including investments in private equity, real estate, notes, cash, and other non-exchange traded assets; and provides real-property and non-real property escrow services. The company serves small and middle-market businesses, corporations, professionals, real estate investors, non-profit organizations, and consumers. The company was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Irvine, California.

About Univest Financial

Univest Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Univest Bank and Trust Co. that provides banking products and services primarily in the United States. It operates through three segments: Banking, Wealth Management, and Insurance. The Banking segment offers a range of banking services, such as deposit taking, loan origination and servicing, mortgage banking, other general banking, and equipment lease financing services for individuals, businesses, municipalities, and nonprofit organizations. Its Wealth Management segment provides investment advisory, financial planning, and trust and brokerage services for private families and individuals, municipal pension plans, retirement plans, and trusts and guardianships. The Insurance segment offers commercial property and casualty insurance, employee benefits solutions, personal insurance lines, and human resources consulting services. The company was formerly known as Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania and changed its name to Univest Financial Corporation in January 2019. The company was founded in 1876 and is headquartered in Souderton, Pennsylvania.