Hanmi Financial (HAFC) Competitors

Hanmi Financial (NASDAQ:HAFC) and Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings and media sentiment.

Is HAFC or ABCB more profitable?

Ameris Bancorp has a net margin of 21.46% compared to Hanmi Financial's net margin of 15.05%. Ameris Bancorp's return on equity of 9.57% beat Hanmi Financial's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hanmi Financial	15.05%	8.84%	0.84%
Ameris Bancorp	21.46%	9.57%	1.32%

Does the media favor HAFC or ABCB?

In the previous week, Hanmi Financial had 2 more articles in the media than Ameris Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 7 mentions for Hanmi Financial and 5 mentions for Ameris Bancorp. Hanmi Financial's average media sentiment score of 0.94 beat Ameris Bancorp's score of 0.47 indicating that Hanmi Financial is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Hanmi Financial	2 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Ameris Bancorp	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Which has better earnings and valuation, HAFC or ABCB?

Ameris Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Hanmi Financial. Hanmi Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ameris Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hanmi Financial	$430.37M	1.86	$62.20M	$2.13	12.45
Ameris Bancorp	$1.12B	4.15	$358.68M	$5.40	12.54

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in HAFC or ABCB?

88.7% of Hanmi Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 1.9% of Hanmi Financial shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.4% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Do analysts recommend HAFC or ABCB?

Hanmi Financial presently has a consensus price target of $25.75, suggesting a potential downside of 2.87%. Ameris Bancorp has a consensus price target of $71.43, suggesting a potential upside of 5.45%. Given Ameris Bancorp's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Ameris Bancorp is more favorable than Hanmi Financial.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hanmi Financial	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.40
Ameris Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.86

Which has more risk & volatility, HAFC or ABCB?

Hanmi Financial has a beta of 0.73, meaning that its share price is 27% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.93, meaning that its share price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is HAFC or ABCB a better dividend stock?

Hanmi Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Hanmi Financial pays out 50.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Ameris Bancorp pays out 14.8% 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. Hanmi Financial has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Hanmi Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Ameris Bancorp beats Hanmi Financial on 15 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.