Hope Bancorp (HOPE) Competitors

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) 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, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, media sentiment, profitability and risk.

Does the media prefer HOPE or ABCB?

In the previous week, Ameris Bancorp had 1 more articles in the media than Hope Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 8 mentions for Ameris Bancorp and 7 mentions for Hope Bancorp. Ameris Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 1.32 beat Hope Bancorp's score of 1.18 indicating that Ameris Bancorp is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Hope Bancorp	5 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Ameris Bancorp	4 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is HOPE or ABCB a better dividend stock?

Hope Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.1%. Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Hope Bancorp pays out 160.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Ameris Bancorp pays out 14.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Is HOPE or ABCB more profitable?

Ameris Bancorp has a net margin of 21.46% compared to Hope Bancorp's net margin of 4.27%. Ameris Bancorp's return on equity of 9.57% beat Hope Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hope Bancorp	4.27%	4.45%	0.55%
Ameris Bancorp	21.46%	9.57%	1.32%

Which has stronger valuation and earnings, HOPE or ABCB?

Ameris Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Hope Bancorp. Ameris Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Hope 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
Hope Bancorp	$1.00B	1.40	$99.63M	$0.35	31.26
Ameris Bancorp	$1.13B	4.62	$358.68M	$5.68	13.35

Do analysts rate HOPE or ABCB?

Hope Bancorp currently has a consensus price target of $13.25, indicating a potential upside of 21.12%. Ameris Bancorp has a consensus price target of $72.14, indicating a potential downside of 4.84%. Given Hope Bancorp's higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Hope Bancorp is more favorable than Ameris Bancorp.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hope Bancorp	1 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
Ameris Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.86

Do insiders & institutionals believe in HOPE or ABCB?

84.0% of Hope Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 5.2% of Hope Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 5.4% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Which has more risk and volatility, HOPE or ABCB?

Hope Bancorp has a beta of 0.97, suggesting that its stock price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.97, suggesting that its stock price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Ameris Bancorp beats Hope Bancorp on 14 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.