F.N.B. (NYSE:FNB) & United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) Head to Head Review

F.N.B. (NYSE:FNB) and United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation, earnings, dividends and risk.

Dividends

F.N.B. pays an annual dividend of $0.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. United Community Banks pays an annual dividend of $1.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. F.N.B. pays out 30.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. United Community Banks pays out 88.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. F.N.B. is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares F.N.B. and United Community Banks”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
F.N.B.	$2.69 billion	2.38	$565.00 million	$1.70	10.69
United Community Banks	$1.54 billion	2.90	$328.10 million	$1.18	31.32

F.N.B. has higher revenue and earnings than United Community Banks. F.N.B. is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than United Community Banks, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for F.N.B. and United Community Banks, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
F.N.B.	0	2	5	0	2.71
United Community Banks	0	2	4	2	3.00

F.N.B. currently has a consensus price target of $20.29, indicating a potential upside of 11.62%. United Community Banks has a consensus price target of $40.00, indicating a potential upside of 8.24%. Given F.N.B.’s higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe F.N.B. is more favorable than United Community Banks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

79.2% of F.N.B. shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 82.3% of United Community Banks shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.5% of F.N.B. shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of United Community Banks shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk and Volatility

F.N.B. has a beta of 0.87, suggesting that its share price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, United Community Banks has a beta of 0.88, suggesting that its share price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares F.N.B. and United Community Banks’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
F.N.B.	22.46%	9.12%	1.22%
United Community Banks	9.06%	9.66%	1.23%

Summary

F.N.B. beats United Community Banks on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About F.N.B.

F.N.B. Corporation, a bank and financial holding company, provides a range of financial products and services primarily to consumers, corporations, governments, and small- to medium-sized businesses in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Community Banking, Wealth Management, and Insurance. The Community Banking segment offers commercial and consumer banking services, including corporate and small business banking, investment real estate financing, business credit, capital market, and lease financing services. It also provides consumer banking products and services, such as deposit products, mortgage and consumer lending services, and mobile and online banking services. The Wealth Management segment provides personal and corporate fiduciary services comprising administration of decedent and trust estates; and securities brokerage and investment advisory services, mutual funds, and annuities. The Insurance segment comprises commercial and personal insurance, and reinsurance products, as well as mezzanine financing options for small- to medium-sized businesses. The company operates community banking branches in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Washington, D.C., and Virginia. F.N.B. Corporation was founded in 1864 and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

About United Community Banks

United Community Banks, Inc. operates as the financial holding company for United Community Bank that provides financial products and services to commercial, retail, government, education, energy, health care, and real estate sectors. The company accepts various deposit products, including checking, savings, money market, and other deposit accounts. It also offers lending services, including real estate, consumer, and commercial loans, to individuals, small businesses, mid-sized commercial businesses, and non-profit organizations, as well as secured and unsecured, and mortgage loans. In addition, the company originate loans partially guaranteed by the SBA and USDA loan programs. Further, it provides wealth management services comprising financial planning, customized portfolio management, and investment advice; trust services to manage fiduciary assets; non-deposit investment products; and insurance products, including life insurance, long-term care insurance, and tax-deferred annuities, as well as invests in residential and commercial mortgage-backed securities, asset-backed securities, the U.S. treasury, the U.S. agency, and municipal obligations. Additionally, the company offers reinsurance on a property insurance contract; insurance agency services; brokerage services; and payment processing, merchant, wire transfer, private banking, and other related financial services. It operates through a network of 171 branches in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. United Community Banks, Inc. was founded in 1950 and is headquartered in Blairsville, Georgia.