Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania (NASDAQ:UVSP) vs. Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) Head-To-Head Survey

Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania (NASDAQ:UVSP) and Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, risk, earnings, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania and Peoples Bancorp”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania	$339.62 million	3.41	$90.76 million	$3.46	12.14
Peoples Bancorp	$618.38 million	2.28	$106.78 million	$3.31	11.84

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

75.1% of Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 60.7% of Peoples Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 1.8% of Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.3% of Peoples Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania pays an annual dividend of $0.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Peoples Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania pays out 26.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Peoples Bancorp pays out 50.8% 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. Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Peoples Bancorp has increased its dividend for 10 consecutive years. Peoples Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania and Peoples Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania	0	2	0	2	3.00
Peoples Bancorp	0	2	3	0	2.60

Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania presently has a consensus price target of $40.50, indicating a potential downside of 3.54%. Peoples Bancorp has a consensus price target of $42.00, indicating a potential upside of 7.13%. Given Peoples Bancorp’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Peoples Bancorp is more favorable than Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania.

Volatility and Risk

Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania has a beta of 0.65, meaning that its stock price is 35% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Peoples Bancorp has a beta of 0.59, meaning that its stock price is 41% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania and Peoples Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania	18.86%	10.41%	1.18%
Peoples Bancorp	19.17%	10.71%	1.35%

Summary

Peoples Bancorp beats Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania

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.

About Peoples Bancorp

Peoples Bancorp Inc. operates as the holding company for Peoples Bank that provides commercial and consumer banking products and services. The company accepts various deposit products, including demand deposit accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, and governmental deposits; and provides commercial and industrial, commercial real estate, construction, finance, residential real estate, and consumer indirect and direct loans, as well as home equity lines of credit and overdrafts. It also offers debit and automated teller machine (ATM) cards; safe deposit rental facilities; money orders and cashier’s checks; and telephone, mobile, and online banking services. In addition, the company provides various life, health, and property and casualty insurance products; third-party insurance administration; interactive teller machines; insurance premium financing; check deposit and alert notification; commercial and technology equipment leasing; fiduciary and trust; underwriting, origination, and servicing of equipment leases, and equipment financing agreements; and asset management and administration services, as well as employee benefit, retirement, and health care plan administration services. Further, it offers brokerage services through an unaffiliated registered broker-dealers; insurance premium finance lending and leasing; and credit cards to individuals and businesses, as well as provides merchant credit card transaction processing, and person-to-person payment processing services. Peoples Bancorp Inc. was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Marietta, Ohio.