CB Financial Services (NASDAQ:CBFV) versus Atlantic Union Bankshares (NASDAQ:AUB) Critical Analysis

CB Financial Services (NASDAQ:CBFV) and Atlantic Union Bankshares (NASDAQ:AUB) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends and earnings.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

33.1% of CB Financial Services shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 78.6% of Atlantic Union Bankshares shares are held by institutional investors. 9.4% of CB Financial Services shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.3% of Atlantic Union Bankshares shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

CB Financial Services pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Atlantic Union Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $1.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. CB Financial Services pays out 22.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Atlantic Union Bankshares pays out 56.4% 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. Atlantic Union Bankshares has raised its dividend for 14 consecutive years. Atlantic Union Bankshares is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for CB Financial Services and Atlantic Union Bankshares, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
CB Financial Services	0	2	0	0	2.00
Atlantic Union Bankshares	0	1	4	0	2.80

CB Financial Services presently has a consensus price target of $26.00, indicating a potential downside of 12.19%. Atlantic Union Bankshares has a consensus price target of $42.00, indicating a potential upside of 12.12%. Given Atlantic Union Bankshares’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Atlantic Union Bankshares is more favorable than CB Financial Services.

Risk & Volatility

CB Financial Services has a beta of 0.58, meaning that its share price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Atlantic Union Bankshares has a beta of 0.91, meaning that its share price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares CB Financial Services and Atlantic Union Bankshares”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
CB Financial Services	$39.19 million	3.87	$22.55 million	$4.45	6.65
Atlantic Union Bankshares	$777.34 million	4.33	$201.82 million	$2.41	15.54

Atlantic Union Bankshares has higher revenue and earnings than CB Financial Services. CB Financial Services is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Atlantic Union Bankshares, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares CB Financial Services and Atlantic Union Bankshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
CB Financial Services	24.51%	8.27%	0.78%
Atlantic Union Bankshares	16.25%	8.85%	1.09%

Summary

Atlantic Union Bankshares beats CB Financial Services on 13 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About CB Financial Services

CB Financial Services, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Community Bank that provides various banking products and services for individuals and businesses in southwestern Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio. The company's primary deposit products include demand deposits, NOW accounts, money market accounts, and savings accounts, as well as time deposit products. Its loan products comprise residential real estate loans, such as one- to four-family mortgage loans, home equity installment loans, and home equity lines of credit; commercial real estate loans that are secured primarily by improved properties, such as retail facilities, office buildings, and other non-residential buildings; construction loans to individuals to finance the construction of residential dwellings, as well as for the construction of commercial properties, including hotels, apartment buildings, housing developments, and owner-occupied properties used for businesses; commercial and industrial loans, and lines of credit; consumer loans consisting of indirect auto loans, secured and unsecured loans, and lines of credit; and other loans. In addition, the company conducts insurance agency activities by offering property and casualty, commercial liability, surety, and other insurance products. The company was founded in 1901 and is headquartered in Carmichaels, Pennsylvania.

About Atlantic Union Bankshares

Atlantic Union Bankshares Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Atlantic Union Bank that provides banking and related financial products and services to consumers and businesses in the United States. It operates in two segments, Wholesale Banking and Consumer Banking. The company accepts various deposit products, including checking, savings, time deposit, and money market accounts; certificates of deposit; and other depository services. It also provides loans for commercial, industrial, residential mortgage, and consumer purposes, as well as debit and credit cards. In addition, it provides treasury management and capital market, wealth management, private banking, trust, financial and retirement planning, brokerage, investment management, equipment finance, mortgage banking, and insurance products and services. The company offers products and services through full-service branches and ATMs, as well as through its mobile and internet banking. The company was formerly known as Union Bankshares Corporation and changed its name to Atlantic Union Bankshares Corporation in May 2019. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corporation was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Glen Allen, Virginia.