OceanFirst Financial (OCFC) Competitors

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

Does the media prefer ABCB or OCFC?

In the previous week, Ameris Bancorp had 9 more articles in the media than OceanFirst Financial. MarketBeat recorded 14 mentions for Ameris Bancorp and 5 mentions for OceanFirst Financial. OceanFirst Financial's average media sentiment score of 1.72 beat Ameris Bancorp's score of 1.59 indicating that OceanFirst Financial is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Ameris Bancorp	13 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
OceanFirst Financial	5 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive

Which has better valuation & earnings, ABCB or OCFC?

Ameris Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than OceanFirst Financial. Ameris Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than OceanFirst Financial, 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	$1.13B	4.39	$358.68M	$5.68	12.69
OceanFirst Financial	$692.36M	1.51	$100.07M	$1.41	12.94

Do analysts recommend ABCB or OCFC?

Ameris Bancorp currently has a consensus target price of $72.14, suggesting a potential upside of 0.09%. OceanFirst Financial has a consensus target price of $20.67, suggesting a potential upside of 13.24%. Given OceanFirst Financial's higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe OceanFirst Financial 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
OceanFirst Financial	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

Which has more risk & volatility, ABCB or OCFC?

Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.96, indicating that its share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, OceanFirst Financial has a beta of 1.04, indicating that its share price is 4% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is ABCB or OCFC a better dividend stock?

Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. OceanFirst Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.4%. Ameris Bancorp pays out 14.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. OceanFirst Financial pays out 56.7% 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.

Is ABCB or OCFC more profitable?

Ameris Bancorp has a net margin of 21.46% compared to OceanFirst Financial's net margin of 12.89%. Ameris Bancorp's return on equity of 9.57% beat OceanFirst Financial's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ameris Bancorp	21.46%	9.57%	1.32%
OceanFirst Financial	12.89%	5.22%	0.66%

Do institutionals and insiders believe in ABCB or OCFC?

91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 71.0% of OceanFirst Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.4% of Ameris Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 5.1% of OceanFirst Financial shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Ameris Bancorp beats OceanFirst Financial on 14 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.