Head to Head Contrast: Mizuho Financial Group (NYSE:MFG) & United Bancshares (NASDAQ:UBOH)

Mizuho Financial Group (NYSE:MFG) and United Bancshares (NASDAQ:UBOH) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, risk, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings and dividends.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

3.3% of Mizuho Financial Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 1.0% of United Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. 0.0% of Mizuho Financial Group shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.6% of United Bancshares shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Mizuho Financial Group and United Bancshares’ top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Mizuho Financial Group	$3,201.44 billion	0.02	$6.30 billion	$0.30	13.75
United Bancshares	$46.23 million	1.26	$8.61 million	$2.81	6.96

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Mizuho Financial Group and United Bancshares, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Mizuho Financial Group	0	0	0	0	N/A
United Bancshares	0	0	0	0	N/A

Profitability

This table compares Mizuho Financial Group and United Bancshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Mizuho Financial Group	6.38%	6.64%	0.24%
United Bancshares	14.16%	N/A	N/A

Risk and Volatility

Mizuho Financial Group has a beta of 0.39, meaning that its stock price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, United Bancshares has a beta of 0.38, meaning that its stock price is 62% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Mizuho Financial Group pays an annual dividend of $0.11 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. United Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.5%. Mizuho Financial Group pays out 36.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. United Bancshares pays out 31.3% 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 Bancshares is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Mizuho Financial Group beats United Bancshares on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Mizuho Financial Group

Mizuho Financial Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in banking, trust, securities, and other businesses related to financial services in Japan, the Americas, Europe, Asia/Oceania, and internationally. It operates through Retail & Business Banking Company, Corporate & Institutional Company, Global Corporate Company, Global Markets Company, Asset Management Company, and Others segments. The company provides deposit products; syndicated, housing, and card loans; business matching services; and advisory services related to overseas expansions, and mergers and acquisitions-related services. It also offers consulting services, including asset management and asset succession; payroll services; and sells lottery tickets issued by prefectures and ordinance-designated cities. In addition, it offers fund management, underwriting of equity and bonds, risk hedging products, etc. for corporate customers; solutions based on capital management, business strategy, and financial strategy; real estate services; advisory services and solutions, such as advice on proposals on various investment products to financial institutions; and financial services that include funding support and public bonds underwriting. Further, the company offers corporate finance and transaction banking srvices; sales and trading services; investment products; pension funds; and ALM and investment services, including stable capital raising and balance sheet management, as well as management of fixed income, equity, and other securities portfolios. Additionally, the company provides online banking, cash management solutions, currency transaction, trade finance, custody, yen correspondence settlement, and research and consulting services; trust, securitization and structured finance, and stock transfers; and private banking and information technology-related services. Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

About United Bancshares

United Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for The Union Bank Company that provides various commercial and consumer banking services. The company accepts various deposits products, such as checking, savings, demand deposit, money market deposit, term certificate, and individual retirement accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. Its loan products include commercial and residential real estate, agricultural, commercial and industrial, home equity, and various types of consumer and small business administration loans. In addition, the company offers wealth management, financial needs analysis, mutual funds, securities trading, annuities, and life insurance services; and treasury management, online and mobile banking, automatic teller machine, bill pay, safe deposit box rental, payment, and other personalized services. It also operates full service banking centers and loan production offices in northwest and central Ohio. United Bancshares, Inc. was founded in 1904 and is headquartered in Columbus Grove, Ohio.