Live Oak Bancshares (LOB) Competitors

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) and Live Oak Bancshares (NASDAQ:LOB) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, valuation, dividends, media sentiment, profitability, earnings and institutional ownership.

Which has more risk & volatility, ABCB or LOB?

Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.96, indicating that its share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Live Oak Bancshares has a beta of 1.82, indicating that its share price is 82% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is ABCB or LOB a better dividend stock?

Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Live Oak Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. Ameris Bancorp pays out 14.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Live Oak Bancshares pays out 9.8% 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.

Do analysts recommend ABCB or LOB?

Ameris Bancorp presently has a consensus price target of $72.14, indicating a potential upside of 7.52%. Live Oak Bancshares has a consensus price target of $42.33, indicating a potential upside of 36.16%. Given Live Oak Bancshares' higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Live Oak Bancshares is more favorable than Ameris Bancorp.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ameris Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.86
Live Oak Bancshares	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33

Is ABCB or LOB more profitable?

Ameris Bancorp has a net margin of 21.46% compared to Live Oak Bancshares' net margin of 7.10%. Ameris Bancorp's return on equity of 9.57% beat Live Oak Bancshares' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ameris Bancorp	21.46%	9.57%	1.32%
Live Oak Bancshares	7.10%	6.88%	0.55%

Does the media favor ABCB or LOB?

In the previous week, Ameris Bancorp had 9 more articles in the media than Live Oak Bancshares. MarketBeat recorded 11 mentions for Ameris Bancorp and 2 mentions for Live Oak Bancshares. Ameris Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 1.41 beat Live Oak Bancshares' score of 0.56 indicating that Ameris Bancorp is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Ameris Bancorp	8 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Live Oak Bancshares	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

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

91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 64.0% of Live Oak Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.4% of Ameris Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 23.4% of Live Oak Bancshares shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has preferable earnings & valuation, ABCB or LOB?

Ameris Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Live Oak Bancshares. Ameris Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Live Oak Bancshares, 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
Ameris Bancorp	$1.14B	4.05	$358.68M	$5.68	11.81
Live Oak Bancshares	$516.93M	2.74	$77.47M	$1.22	25.48

Summary

Ameris Bancorp beats Live Oak Bancshares on 13 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.