Business
United Bancorp, Inc. Reports an Increase in Net Income of 38% for the Six Months Ended June 30, 2019; Diluted Earnings per Share of $0.57 versus $0.46 Reported in 2018, and a Forward Dividend Yield of 4.70%
MARTINS FERRY, Ohio, Aug. 2, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- United Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: UBCP), headquartered in Martins Ferry, Ohio, reported diluted earnings per

About this update from United Bancorp, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"MARTINS FERRY, Ohio, Aug. 2, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- United Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: UBCP), headquartered in Martins Ferry, Ohio, reported diluted earnings per share of $0.57 and net income of $3,260,000 for the six months ended June 30, 2019, as compared to $0.46 and $2,360,000, respectively, for the corresponding six month period in 2018. The Company's diluted earnings per share for the three months ended June 30, 2019 was $0.29 as compared to $0.23 to the same period in the previous year. These year-over-year improvements in UBCP's earnings are directly related to the Company executing its strategic vision to achieve profitable growth by growing in both an organic fashion and through acquiring other like-minded community banking organizations. \n\n \nRandall M. Greenwood, Senior Vice President, CFO and Treasurer remarked, \"We are pleased to report on our solid financial performance for the three-month period ended June 30, 2019 and year-to-date. For the most recently ended quarter, our Company had an increase in net income of $434,000, or 35.8%, on a year-over-year basis. For the six month period ending June 30, 2019, our Company saw its net income increase by $900,000, or 38.1%, to a level of $3,260,000--- which is a new earnings record for our company. This increase in earnings is strongly correlated to the strong organic and acquisition-related growth that our Company experienced during the past twelve months. Even with the issuance of common shares to facilitate our most recent acquisition completed in the fourth quarter of 2018, our diluted earnings per share was $0.29 versus $0.23 the prior year, an increase of 26.1%. The combination of the acquisition-related and strong organic growth that we achieved this past year facilitated the increase in the level of our Company's higher-yielding earning assets, which grew by $117.2 million, or 24.9%, on a year-over-year basis. This growth in earning assets was divided between steady growth in our Company's loan portfolio, which increased by $45.9 million, or 12.1%, and solid growth in our investment portfolio, with securities and other restricted stock increasing by $71.2 million or 78.8%. With our increased level of higher-yielding earning assets, our Company saw a year-over-year increase in the level of interest income that it generated for the first six months of 2019 of $3.2 mil...