Reviewing Orange County Bancorp (NASDAQ:OBT) and United Security Bancshares (NASDAQ:UBFO)

Orange County Bancorp (NASDAQ:OBT) and United Security Bancshares (NASDAQ:UBFO) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk and earnings.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Orange County Bancorp and United Security Bancshares”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Orange County Bancorp	$158.13 million	3.08	$41.61 million	$3.55	10.24
United Security Bancshares	$53.51 million	3.39	$12.29 million	$0.71	14.80

Orange County Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than United Security Bancshares. Orange County Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than United Security Bancshares, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

42.5% of Orange County Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 30.9% of United Security Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.2% of Orange County Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 22.1% of United Security Bancshares shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Orange County Bancorp and United Security Bancshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Orange County Bancorp	30.80%	16.44%	1.75%
United Security Bancshares	18.65%	9.03%	1.01%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Orange County Bancorp and United Security Bancshares, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Orange County Bancorp	0	0	2	2	3.50
United Security Bancshares	0	0	1	0	3.00

Orange County Bancorp presently has a consensus price target of $43.25, indicating a potential upside of 19.01%. Given Orange County Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Orange County Bancorp is more favorable than United Security Bancshares.

Dividends

Orange County Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. United Security Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.6%. Orange County Bancorp pays out 20.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. United Security Bancshares pays out 67.6% 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. United Security Bancshares has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years. United Security Bancshares is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Risk and Volatility

Orange County Bancorp has a beta of 0.42, indicating that its share price is 58% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, United Security Bancshares has a beta of 0.34, indicating that its share price is 66% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Orange County Bancorp beats United Security Bancshares on 13 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Orange County Bancorp

Orange County Bancorp, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides commercial and consumer banking products and services, and trust and wealth management services to small businesses, middle-market enterprises, local municipal governments, and individuals. It accepts various deposits, including interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing demand accounts, money market deposit accounts, savings accounts, and certificates of deposit. The company also offers commercial real estate loans, commercial and industrial loans, commercial real estate construction loans, residential real estate loans, home equity loans, and consumer loans. In addition, it provides traditional trust and administration, asset management, financial planning, and wealth management services. The company operates full-service branches and loan production office in Orange, Westchester, Rockland, and Bronx counties in New York. Orange County Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1892 and is headquartered in Middletown, New York.

About United Security Bancshares

United Security Bancshares operates as the bank holding company for United Security Bank, a state-chartered bank that provides a range of commercial banking services to the business and professional community, and individuals in California. The company accepts various deposit products, including personal and business checking accounts, savings accounts, interest-bearing negotiable order of withdrawal accounts, money market accounts, and time certificates of deposit. It also provides real estate mortgage, commercial and industrial, real estate construction and development, and consumer loans, as well as agricultural, installment, and student loans. In addition, the company offers online and mobile banking, safe deposit boxes, wire transfers, payroll direct deposit, cashier's check, cash management, and foreign draft services, as well as interactive teller machines; and person-to-person and bank-to-bank transfers for consumer customers. United Security Bancshares was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Fresno, California.