Analyzing United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) & Capital City Bank Group (NASDAQ:CCBG)

Capital City Bank Group (NASDAQ:CCBG) and United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation, earnings, dividends and profitability.

Volatility & Risk

Capital City Bank Group has a beta of 0.39, suggesting that its share price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, United Community Banks has a beta of 0.91, suggesting that its share price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Capital City Bank Group and United Community Banks’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Capital City Bank Group	21.50%	11.92%	1.39%
United Community Banks	20.67%	9.42%	1.17%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for Capital City Bank Group and United Community Banks, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Capital City Bank Group	0	1	2	0	2.67
United Community Banks	0	4	3	0	2.43

Capital City Bank Group presently has a consensus price target of $45.00, suggesting a potential upside of 12.33%. United Community Banks has a consensus price target of $35.33, suggesting a potential upside of 17.90%. Given United Community Banks’ higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe United Community Banks is more favorable than Capital City Bank Group.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Capital City Bank Group and United Community Banks”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Capital City Bank Group	$240.59 million	2.84	$52.92 million	$3.57	11.22
United Community Banks	$1.01 billion	3.59	$252.40 million	$2.52	11.89

United Community Banks has higher revenue and earnings than Capital City Bank Group. Capital City Bank Group 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.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

44.6% of Capital City Bank Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 82.3% of United Community Banks shares are owned by institutional investors. 19.6% of Capital City Bank Group shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of United Community Banks shares are owned by 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.

Dividends

Capital City Bank Group pays an annual dividend of $1.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. United Community Banks pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Capital City Bank Group pays out 29.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. United Community Banks pays out 39.7% 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. Capital City Bank Group has raised its dividend for 11 consecutive years.

Summary

United Community Banks beats Capital City Bank Group on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Capital City Bank Group

Capital City Bank Group, Inc. operates as the financial holding company for Capital City Bank that provides a range of banking- related services to individual and corporate clients. The company offers financing for commercial business properties, equipment, inventories, and accounts receivable, as well as commercial leasing and letters of credit; treasury management services; and merchant credit card transaction processing services. It also provides commercial and residential real estate lending products, as well as fixed and adjustable-rate residential mortgage loans; personal, automobile, boat/RV, and home equity loans; and credit card programs. In addition, the company offers institutional banking services, including customized checking and savings accounts, cash management systems, tax-exempt loans, lines of credit, and term loans to meet the needs of state and local governments, public schools and colleges, charities, membership, and not-for-profit associations. Further, it provides consumer banking services comprising checking accounts, savings programs, interactive/automated teller machines, debit/credit cards, night deposit services, safe deposit facilities, and online and mobile banking services. Additionally, the company provides asset management for individuals through agency, personal trust, IRA, and personal investment management accounts; and various retail securities products, such as the U.S. government bonds, tax-free municipal bonds, stocks, mutual funds, unit investment trusts, annuities, life insurance, and long-term health care, as well as business, estate, financial, insurance and business planning, tax planning, and asset protection advisory services. Capital City Bank Group, Inc. was founded in 1895 and is headquartered in Tallahassee, Florida.

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.