CIT Group Inc (DEL) (NYSE: CIT) and United Community Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:UCFC) are both 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.
Dividends
CIT Group Inc (DEL) pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. United Community Financial Corp. pays an annual dividend of $0.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. CIT Group Inc (DEL) pays out -18.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. United Community Financial Corp. pays out 39.0% 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.
Volatility and Risk
CIT Group Inc (DEL) has a beta of 1.49, meaning that its stock price is 49% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, United Community Financial Corp. has a beta of 0.57, meaning that its stock price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
58.8% of United Community Financial Corp. shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of CIT Group Inc (DEL) shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.6% of United Community Financial Corp. 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.
Profitability
This table compares CIT Group Inc (DEL) and United Community Financial Corp.’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| CIT Group Inc (DEL) | -20.50% | 5.66% | 0.89% |
| United Community Financial Corp. | 18.95% | 8.90% | 1.00% |
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares CIT Group Inc (DEL) and United Community Financial Corp.’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | EBITDA | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| CIT Group Inc (DEL) | $2.15 billion | 2.82 | -$450.98 million | ($3.33) | -13.44 |
| United Community Financial Corp. | $91.26 million | 4.83 | $20.38 million | $0.41 | 21.61 |
United Community Financial Corp. has higher revenue, but lower earnings than CIT Group Inc (DEL). CIT Group Inc (DEL) is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than United Community Financial Corp., indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent recommendations for CIT Group Inc (DEL) and United Community Financial Corp., as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| CIT Group Inc (DEL) | 1 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 2.42 |
| United Community Financial Corp. | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2.33 |
CIT Group Inc (DEL) presently has a consensus price target of $46.62, indicating a potential upside of 4.21%. United Community Financial Corp. has a consensus price target of $10.50, indicating a potential upside of 18.51%. Given United Community Financial Corp.’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe United Community Financial Corp. is more favorable than CIT Group Inc (DEL).
Summary
United Community Financial Corp. beats CIT Group Inc (DEL) on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
CIT Group Inc (DEL) Company Profile
CIT Group Inc. (CIT) is a bank holding company (BHC) and a financial holding company (FHC). The Company, together with its subsidiaries, provides financing, leasing and advisory services to middle market companies in a range of industries in North America. The Company’s segments include Commercial Banking, Consumer Banking, Non-Strategic Portfolios, and Corporate and Other. The Commercial Banking segment consists of four divisions: Commercial Finance, Rail, Real Estate Finance, and Business Capital. The Consumer Banking segment includes Retail Banking, Mortgage Lending, and SBA Lending (together referred to as Other Consumer Banking), and Legacy Consumer Mortgages (LCM). The Company’s products and services include account receivables collection, acquisition and expansion financing, asset management and servicing, asset-based loans, debt underwriting and syndication, deposits, enterprise value and cash flow loans, equipment leases, factoring services and financial risk management.
United Community Financial Corp. Company Profile
United Community Financial Corp. is financial services holding company. The Company’s subsidiaries include The Home Savings and Loan Company of Youngstown, Ohio (Home Savings or the Bank), HSB Insurance, LLC and HSB Capital, LLC. The principal business of Home Savings is the origination of mortgage loans, including construction loans, on residential and nonresidential real estate located in Home Savings’ primary market area. In addition to real estate lending, Home Savings originates commercial loans and various types of consumer loans. Funds for lending and other investment activities are obtained primarily from retail deposits. HSB Insurance, LLC is an insurance agency that offers a range of insurance products for business and residential customers, which include, auto, homeowners, life-health, commercial, surety bonds and aviation. HSB Capital, LLC provides mezzanine funding for customers. Mezzanine loans are offered to customers in United Community’s market area.
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