Breaking Down United Bancorp, Inc. (UBCP) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors

You're looking for the real story behind United Bancorp, Inc. (UBCP), and the Q3 2025 numbers show a regional bank still navigating a complex rate environment but with clear strategic momentum. The headline is solid: diluted earnings per share (EPS) hit $0.34 for the third quarter, driving the year-to-date EPS to a strong $0.99, with net income reaching $5.717 million for the first nine months of 2025. This performance is backed by a growing balance sheet, with total assets climbing to $866.8 million as of September 30, 2025, and a healthy net interest margin (NIM) of 3.66%, which is defintely a win in today's market. But, we also see the realist's perspective: the debt-to-equity ratio is high at 1.53, suggesting a reliance on debt that warrants attention, even as the company's nonperforming assets remain manageable at 0.66% of total assets. Plus, management's commitment to shareholders is clear, with a Q4 2025 dividend of $0.19 per share, contributing to a forward yield that's near the top of the industry at around 6.6%. We need to look closer at whether their big investments in technology and new centers can keep the growth engine running against those debt and rate risks.

Revenue Analysis

You're looking for a clear picture of how United Bancorp, Inc. (UBCP) actually makes its money, and the takeaway is simple: it's a classic community bank model, heavily reliant on lending, but with a growing fee-based business. The core of their revenue is Net Interest Income (NII), but the near-term risk is that overall revenue growth is still sputtering, despite strong component gains.

For the trailing twelve months ending September 30, 2025, United Bancorp, Inc.'s total revenue was approximately $30.52 million. However, the year-over-year revenue growth for that period was a decline of -5.1%, a trend that warrants a closer look at the underlying components. That negative headline number hides some positive momentum in the bank's operational segments.

Primary Revenue Streams: NII vs. Noninterest Income

As a bank holding company operating through Unified Bank, United Bancorp, Inc.'s revenue is split into two main buckets: Net Interest Income (NII) and Noninterest Income. NII is the money earned from loans and investments minus the interest paid on deposits and borrowings. Noninterest Income is everything else-fees, service charges, mortgage sales, etc. This is defintely where the bank's business diversification efforts show up.

Here's the quick math for the third quarter of 2025 (Q3 2025), which reported total revenue of approximately $8.08 million:

• Net Interest Income (NII): This segment delivered $6.7 million, representing about 82.7% of the quarter's total revenue.
• Noninterest Income: This segment contributed $1.4 million, or roughly 17.3% of the total.

The reliance on NII is typical for a community bank, but the Noninterest Income stream is a critical gauge of their ability to generate stable, fee-based revenue that isn't as sensitive to interest rate fluctuations. You can see more about the market's reaction to these figures in Exploring United Bancorp, Inc. (UBCP) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

Segment Growth and Shifting Dynamics

The most important recent trend is the strong growth in both core revenue components for the quarter ending September 30, 2025. Net Interest Income rose 9.6% year-over-year, driven by a 7% increase in total interest income. Simultaneously, Noninterest Income saw an even stronger jump, increasing 10.9% year-over-year to $1.4 million. This noninterest growth was aided by activities like Unified Mortgage loan sales and fee initiatives.

What this estimate hides is the cost of funding, which is why the company's Net Interest Margin (NIM)-the difference between interest earned and interest paid-is a key metric. For the first nine months of 2025, the NIM expanded by 16 basis points to 3.66%, a sign of successful asset yield management. The table below summarizes the nine-month performance, showing the clear dominance and growth of the lending business.

The significant change in revenue streams is the strategic push to scale the Noninterest Income business through new initiatives like the Unified Mortgage Division and Treasury Management Programs. While this has led to higher noninterest expenses in the near term, the goal is to drive future profitability and operating leverage, essentially making the revenue mix more resilient over the long haul.

Profitability Metrics

You're looking for a clear picture of how United Bancorp, Inc. (UBCP) actually makes money, and honestly, the profitability trend for 2025 is a strong story. For a bank, you need to focus less on traditional Gross Profit and more on the Net Interest Margin (NIM), which is the core measure of how well they manage the spread between what they earn on loans and what they pay on deposits.

United Bancorp, Inc. has shown consistent margin expansion and net income growth throughout the first three quarters of 2025, which is a defintely positive sign in a volatile rate environment.

Margin Trends and Core Profitability

The key takeaway here is that UBCP is outperforming the community bank average in its most critical profitability metric. The Net Interest Margin (NIM)-which is essentially the bank's gross profit margin on its lending business-has been on a clear upward trajectory in 2025. It started the year at 3.60% in the first quarter, improved to 3.65% in the second quarter, and reached 3.66% by the third quarter.

Here's the quick math for comparison:

• UBCP's Q2 2025 NIM of 3.65% was slightly above the average for US community banks (those with under $10 billion in assets), which was 3.62% for the same period.
• Net Income (Net Profit) also trended up, rising from $1.872 million in Q1 2025 to $1.931 million in Q3 2025.

This is a healthy trend, showing the bank is successfully repricing its assets (loans) faster or better than its liabilities (deposits). The Net Profit Margin (Net Income divided by Total Revenue) for Q3 2025 stood at approximately 23.9% (based on $1.931 million net income on $8.08 million in quarterly revenue).

Operational Efficiency and Cost Management

When we look at operational efficiency, the picture is a little more nuanced, but still manageable. The bank's noninterest expense-the cost of running the business outside of interest payments-increased by 15.5% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2025. This isn't a red flag, but a strategic expense. The rise was driven by investments in future growth, like the development of a new Wheeling Banking Center, scaling out the Unified Mortgage Division, and digital transformation initiatives.

To be fair, these are near-term drags on the Operating Profit margin, but they are expected to drive future operating leverage. The management is betting that these investments will provide a pathway to increasingly higher performance over the next 12 to 24 months. You can see this tension mapped out in their quarterly Net Interest Income (NII) growth:

The accelerating NII growth-from 2.2% in Q1 to 9.6% in Q3-shows the strategic investments are starting to pay off on the revenue side, which is what you want to see. Also, the company's market price to book value was 132% as of March 31, 2025, which is a favorable metric compared to current industry standards.

For more context on who is investing in this story, you should check out Exploring United Bancorp, Inc. (UBCP) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

The clear action here is to monitor the Q4 2025 earnings release closely. Look for a stabilization or decrease in the noninterest expense growth rate, coupled with continued NII expansion, to confirm their strategic investments are yielding proper operating leverage.

Debt vs. Equity Structure

You need to know how United Bancorp, Inc. (UBCP) is funding its growth, because a bank's capital structure is the bedrock of its stability. The direct takeaway is this: United Bancorp, Inc. (UBCP) leans heavily on debt financing, with its latest Debt-to-Common-Equity ratio peaking at over four times the regional bank industry average, signaling a higher risk profile in a rising rate environment.

The High Leverage Picture

United Bancorp, Inc. (UBCP)'s balance sheet shows a clear reliance on debt. As of the Most Recent Quarter (MRQ) in 2025, the company reported a Total Debt of approximately $147.34 million. This debt load is managed against a Total Shareholders' Equity of $66.5 million as of September 30, 2025. Here's the quick math: the company's Debt-to-Common-Equity ratio, a key measure of financial leverage (how much debt is used to finance assets), peaked at an alarming 230.3% in September 2025. That's a high number.

To be fair, a high ratio doesn't automatically mean disaster, but it does mean a greater sensitivity to interest rate changes. It's a risk-reward trade-off, and United Bancorp, Inc. (UBCP) is currently choosing the higher-risk path.

• Total Debt (MRQ 2025): $147.34 million.
• Shareholders' Equity (Q3 2025): $66.5 million.
• Debt-to-Common-Equity (Peak Q3 2025): 230.3%.

Industry Comparison and Debt Strategy

When you compare United Bancorp, Inc. (UBCP)'s leverage to its peers, the picture gets starker. The average Debt-to-Equity ratio for the Regional Banks industry as of November 2025 is around 0.5, or 50%. United Bancorp, Inc. (UBCP)'s ratio of 230.3% is significantly higher, suggesting a much more aggressive financing strategy than the typical regional bank. This higher leverage is defintely something to watch, especially as the Federal Reserve continues to navigate rate policy.

The company's approach to funding growth has been deliberate: use debt to avoid diluting current shareholders. For example, the $20 million in subordinated notes due in 2029, issued back in 2019, were specifically structured to qualify as Tier 2 capital for the bank without issuing new stock. That debt is now a floating-rate instrument, resetting quarterly to the three-month LIBOR plus 362.5 basis points since May 2024. This means their cost of debt is directly tied to short-term market rates, which is a key exposure in the current environment.

What this estimate hides is the nature of a bank's balance sheet-deposits are technically liabilities, but they are core to the business model in a way that corporate bonds are not. Still, a high Debt-to-Equity ratio for a bank holding company means less of a capital cushion from equity to absorb unexpected losses. If you want to dig deeper into who is buying this stock despite the high leverage, you can read Exploring United Bancorp, Inc. (UBCP) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

Your next step should be to look at the Net Interest Margin (NIM) and credit quality in the next quarter's earnings report. If the NIM starts to compress due to higher interest expense on that floating-rate debt, or if nonperforming loans rise above the Q1 2025 level of $2.8 million, the high leverage becomes a much more serious problem.

Liquidity and Solvency

When we look at United Bancorp, Inc. (UBCP)'s short-term financial health, we're really assessing their ability to cover immediate obligations. For a bank, the traditional liquidity ratios are a bit different, but they still tell a clear story about funding stability. The headline takeaway is that while UBCP's cash flow from operations is positive, the overall short-term position shows a reliance on client deposits, which is typical but requires close monitoring.

As of the second quarter ending June 30, 2025, United Bancorp, Inc. (UBCP) reported Current Assets of $550.29 million and Current Liabilities of $678.54 million. This gives us a Current Ratio (Current Assets divided by Current Liabilities) of approximately 0.81. Here's the quick math: $550.29 million / $678.54 million $\approx$ 0.81. This ratio is below the 1.0 benchmark, meaning the bank's short-term assets don't fully cover its short-term liabilities, a common structural feature in banking where deposits are the main liability.

The Quick Ratio (Acid-Test Ratio) for a bank is less useful than for a manufacturing firm, as a bank's current assets are primarily interest-earning assets like loans and securities, not inventory. Still, the 0.81 Current Ratio is a clear signal of negative Working Capital, which came in at $-128.25 million ($550.29 million minus $678.54 million) for Q2 2025. This negative working capital highlights the classic banking model: funding longer-term assets (like loans) with short-term liabilities (like checking and savings deposits).

Digging into the Cash Flow Statement for the quarter ended June 30, 2025, we see a mixed picture of how cash is moving through the business. This is defintely where the action is for a financial institution:

• Operating Cash Flow: UBCP generated a positive $4.84 million from core operations. This is the lifeblood of the bank-cash coming in from lending and other services.
• Investing Cash Flow: The company had a net cash outflow of $-5.92 million, which is expected as a bank uses cash to fund new loans and investments in securities.
• Financing Cash Flow: This saw a significant inflow of $31.15 million. This is largely driven by changes in deposits and borrowings, and it's what ultimately boosted the End Cash balance to $49.69 million for the quarter.

The trend shows a growing reliance on financing activities to support the business, which is a key area to watch. Management is aware of this, focusing on developing their Treasury Management function to grow their no or low-cost deposit base, which is a more stable form of funding. However, recent analyst commentary points to increased leverage and declining free cash flow as presenting financial risks, suggesting liquidity is 'somewhat tight' as of Q3 2025. The total debt of $147.34 million against a Q3 cash position of only $143.62 thousand (a very small fraction) underscores the need for sound deposit management and access to external funding markets. You can read more about the broader financial picture in our full analysis: Breaking Down United Bancorp, Inc. (UBCP) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

Here is a snapshot of the cash flow components in millions of USD:

The immediate action for you, the investor, is to track the bank's deposit growth and cost of funds in the upcoming Q4 2025 report. If deposit growth stalls, that $31.15 million financing inflow could dry up, forcing the bank to rely on more expensive wholesale funding.

Valuation Analysis

You're looking at United Bancorp, Inc. (UBCP) and asking the right question: is this regional bank overvalued or undervalued right now? The short answer is that based on key metrics and analyst sentiment in November 2025, United Bancorp, Inc. appears undervalued, offering a significant potential upside.

The stock is trading near the lower end of its recent range, and its valuation multiples look compelling against the broader banking sector. For a deeper dive into the bank's operational performance, you can read our full analysis at Breaking Down United Bancorp, Inc. (UBCP) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

Here's the quick math on why this valuation looks attractive, especially for a bank that continues to expand its net interest margin (NIM), which hit 3.66% for the first nine months of 2025.

Key Valuation Multiples (FY 2025 Data)

For a bank like United Bancorp, Inc., we focus heavily on the Price-to-Earnings (P/E) and Price-to-Book (P/B) ratios. The Enterprise Value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) is less relevant here, as banks are valued on net income and equity, not EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization), which is a better fit for industrial or tech firms.

• Price-to-Earnings (P/E): The trailing P/E ratio stands at a modest 10.22. This is based on a trailing twelve-month (TTM) Earnings Per Share (EPS) of approximately $1.30. The forward P/E, using an estimated 2025 EPS of $1.32, is even lower at 9.91. Compared to the industry average, this suggests the stock is trading at a discount for its earnings power.
• Price-to-Book (P/B): While the direct P/B isn't cited, the Market Price to Tangible Book Value was reported at 127% as of September 30, 2025. This means the stock price of approximately $12.98 (as of November 22, 2025) is 1.27 times its tangible book value. For a growing bank, a ratio slightly above 1.0 is often seen as healthy, but 1.27 is defintely not stretched.

Stock Trend and Dividend Strength

The stock has seen some volatility, which is typical in this market environment. Over the last 12 months, the stock has traded in a 52-week range between a low of $12.25 and a high of $15.64. The current price of $12.98 sits much closer to the low, despite the company reporting increased earnings, with diluted EPS for the first nine months of 2025 rising to $0.99.

The dividend story is a major draw. United Bancorp, Inc. has increased its dividend every year for the last 13 years. The latest quarterly dividend declared in November 2025 was $0.19 per share, which translates to a strong current dividend yield of approximately 5.9%. The payout ratio is conservative at 48.4%, meaning the dividend is well-covered by earnings and sustainable, plus it leaves room for future increases.

Analyst Consensus and Action

Wall Street analysts are overwhelmingly positive on the stock. The consensus rating is a Strong Buy. Specifically, the average 12-month price target is set at $20.00, which implies an upside of over 54% from the current trading price. Only one analyst is currently covering the stock, but their conviction is high.

The clear action here is to consider initiating a position. The low P/E, solid dividend yield, and significant gap between the current price and the $20.00 target price suggest a compelling risk/reward profile. Finance: Review the Q4 2025 EPS estimate of $0.33 to ensure the forward P/E remains valid.

Risk Factors

You're looking at United Bancorp, Inc. (UBCP) and seeing solid Q3 2025 earnings, but a seasoned investor knows you must map the risks first. The direct takeaway is that while credit quality remains excellent, the firm's reliance on debt and high noninterest expenses from strategic investments are the near-term financial headwinds you need to watch.

Honestly, the biggest internal risk right now is the balance sheet structure. United Bancorp, Inc. (UBCP) operates with a Debt-to-Equity ratio of 1.66 as of the most recent data, which is a higher reliance on debt financing. Here's the quick math: in an environment where the Federal Reserve (FOMC) has loosened policy, but rates are still elevated compared to historic norms, that debt load creates a real sensitivity to any sudden upward shift in prevailing interest rates, a general risk for the banking sector. Plus, analysts have flagged increased leverage and declining free cash flow as specific financial risks.

The company is defintely aware of the challenging economic and highly competitive industry environment. They've been transparent about their strategic plan, which is both a risk and a long-term opportunity. They are absorbing higher noninterest expense levels from transformative projects, which are 'dilutive to current financial performance' in the short run.

• Operational Risk: Elevated Noninterest Expense: Costs associated with the new Wheeling Banking Center, the Unified Mortgage division, Treasury Management Programs, and tech upgrades are adding to expenses now.
• External Risk: Interest Rate Sensitivity: High debt-to-equity ratio makes the firm vulnerable if the cost of funding rises unexpectedly.
• Industry Risk: Regulatory and Economic Shifts: As a regional bank, United Bancorp, Inc. (UBCP) is exposed to regulatory changes and broader economic downturns that impact the entire banking industry.

What this estimate hides is the firm's robust credit quality, which is a key mitigation strategy. As of September 30, 2025, nonperforming assets to total assets stood at a favorable 0.66%, and nonaccrual loans were just $3.1 million, or 0.63% of gross loans. These levels are well-below historic averages and compare favorably to their peer group.

Management has adopted a 'more defensive posture' over the past few years, sacrificing growth to maintain sound performance and a conservative balance sheet, which is a smart move given the economic uncertainty. They are also actively mitigating interest rate risk and boosting profitability by successfully repricing their loan portfolio, which helped the net interest margin (NIM) improve to 3.66% in the third quarter of 2025. The strategic investments, while costly now, are their pathway to future growth and are expected to lead to higher performance over the next 12 to 24 months.

For more on the long-term strategic direction that informs these investment risks, you can review the Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of United Bancorp, Inc. (UBCP).

Here is a snapshot of the core financial metrics driving the risk discussion:

Your next step should be to track the noninterest expense line in the Q4 2025 report to see if the strategic investments are starting to flatten out or if they continue to rise.

Growth Opportunities

You're looking for a clear path forward on United Bancorp, Inc. (UBCP), and the message is simple: the bank has shifted from a defensive stance to an offensive, growth-oriented one, with a concrete near-term target. They are actively investing in infrastructure and specialized lending to push total assets past the $1.0 billion mark, a key psychological and operational threshold for a regional bank. That is the core driver for future profitability.

The management team is not just waiting for the market to turn; they are executing on several key initiatives that are already showing up in the numbers. For the first nine months of 2025, United Bancorp, Inc. reported diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.99 and net income of $5,717,000. The real engine, though, is net interest income (NII), which grew 9.6% year-over-year in the third quarter of 2025, driving a net interest margin (NIM) expansion to 3.66%. That's a strong trajectory.

Here's the quick math on their growth focus: As of September 30, 2025, total assets stood at $866.8 million. To hit the $1.0 billion goal, they need to add about $133.2 million in assets, primarily loans and cash, which is a manageable lift given their recent momentum.

Key Drivers and Strategic Initiatives

United Bancorp, Inc.'s future growth isn't reliant on a single bet; it's a multi-pronged strategy focused on both geographic and product expansion. This is a classic regional bank playbook: expand your footprint and deepen your product offerings in high-value areas.

• Market Expansion: A new regional banking center in Wheeling, West Virginia, is scheduled to open soon, which is a direct push into a desirable, new market. They already attribute some recent loan and deposit growth to the business development team in place there.
• Product Innovations: The development and scaling of the Unified Mortgage and Treasury Management Programs are crucial. These programs diversify revenue beyond traditional commercial lending and capture more fee-based income, which is less sensitive to interest rate fluctuations.
• Operational Efficiency: The company is investing in new technology and digital transformation, plus consolidating back-office functions into the new Unified Center in St. Clairsville, Ohio. This is an upfront cost, but it creates operating leverage-meaning future revenue growth will flow more directly to the bottom line.

Competitive Edge and Earnings Outlook

The bank's competitive advantages are rooted in its regional focus and disciplined lending. Their geographic footprint in southeastern Ohio and West Virginia keeps them insulated from the volatility of larger metropolitan markets. Plus, their primary focus-commercial lending-accounts for roughly 80% of total loans, with a specific alignment to localized commercial opportunities and federal infrastructure investments. This is a smart niche.

What this estimate hides is the potential for non-interest expense to remain elevated in the near term as they finish construction on the Wheeling center and the Unified Center, but the long-term scale benefits are clear. The bank's credit quality is also a standout, with nonperforming assets at just 0.60% of total assets, significantly below the industry average. This stable base supports the growth push.

For shareholders, the commitment is strong: the total dividend payout for the first nine months of 2025 was 73 cents, an 8.2% increase over the prior year, resulting in a forward dividend yield of 6.6% that management views as near-industry leading. That's a strong return while you wait for the asset growth to materialize.

To dive deeper into the current financial health, you can read our full analysis here: Breaking Down United Bancorp, Inc. (UBCP) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors