Comparing Univest Financial (NASDAQ:UVSP) and TrustCo Bank Corp NY (NASDAQ:TRST)

TrustCo Bank Corp NY (NASDAQ:TRST) and Univest Financial (NASDAQ:UVSP) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and risk.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for TrustCo Bank Corp NY and Univest Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
TrustCo Bank Corp NY	0	0	0	0	0.00
Univest Financial	0	3	0	0	2.00

Univest Financial has a consensus target price of $29.00, suggesting a potential upside of 8.21%. Given Univest Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Univest Financial is more favorable than TrustCo Bank Corp NY.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares TrustCo Bank Corp NY and Univest Financial”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
TrustCo Bank Corp NY	$171.77 million	3.15	$48.83 million	$2.57	11.06
Univest Financial	$299.23 million	2.60	$75.93 million	$2.59	10.35

Univest Financial has higher revenue and earnings than TrustCo Bank Corp NY. Univest Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than TrustCo Bank Corp NY, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares TrustCo Bank Corp NY and Univest Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
TrustCo Bank Corp NY	18.56%	7.37%	0.79%
Univest Financial	15.17%	8.51%	0.92%

Risk and Volatility

TrustCo Bank Corp NY has a beta of 0.71, suggesting that its share price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Univest Financial has a beta of 0.72, suggesting that its share price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

TrustCo Bank Corp NY pays an annual dividend of $1.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.1%. Univest Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. TrustCo Bank Corp NY pays out 56.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Univest Financial pays out 32.4% 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.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

68.6% of TrustCo Bank Corp NY shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 75.1% of Univest Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.3% of TrustCo Bank Corp NY shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.7% of Univest Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Univest Financial beats TrustCo Bank Corp NY on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About TrustCo Bank Corp NY

TrustCo Bank Corp NY operates as the holding company for Trustco Bank, a federal savings bank that provides personal and business banking services to individuals and businesses. The company accepts deposits; and offers loans and investments. It also operates as a real estate investment trust that acquires, holds, and manages real estate mortgage assets, including residential mortgage loans and mortgage-backed securities. In addition, the company serves as the executor of estates and trustee of personal trusts; provides asset and wealth management, estate planning and related advice, and custodial services; and acts as trustee for various types of employee benefit plans, and corporate pension and profit-sharing trusts. It operates through banking offices in Albany, Columbia, Dutchess, Greene, Montgomery, Orange, Putnam, Rensselaer, Rockland, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Ulster, Warren, Washington, and Westchester counties of New York; Brevard, Charlotte, Flagler, Hillsborough, Indian River, Lake, Manatee, Martin, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Polk, Sarasota, Seminole, and Volusia counties in Florida; Bennington County in Vermont; Berkshire County in Massachusetts; and Bergen County in New Jersey, as well as automatic teller machines. The company was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Glenville, New York.

About Univest Financial

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.