OceanFirst Financial (OCFC) Competitors

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

Which has more risk and volatility, ABCB or OCFC?

Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.93, suggesting that its stock price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, OceanFirst Financial has a beta of 0.99, suggesting that its stock price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has better earnings and valuation, ABCB or OCFC?

Ameris Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than OceanFirst Financial. OceanFirst 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
Ameris Bancorp	$1.12B	4.11	$358.68M	$5.40	12.41
OceanFirst Financial	$379.09M	2.85	$100.07M	$1.53	12.08

Is ABCB or OCFC more profitable?

Ameris Bancorp has a net margin of 21.46% compared to OceanFirst Financial's net margin of 13.59%. 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	13.59%	5.38%	0.68%

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 1.2%. OceanFirst Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. Ameris Bancorp pays out 14.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. OceanFirst Financial pays out 52.3% 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.

Does the media favor ABCB or OCFC?

In the previous week, OceanFirst Financial had 6 more articles in the media than Ameris Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 10 mentions for OceanFirst Financial and 4 mentions for Ameris Bancorp. Ameris Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 0.72 beat OceanFirst Financial's score of 0.32 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	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
OceanFirst Financial	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Do institutionals & insiders hold more shares of ABCB or OCFC?

91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 71.0% of OceanFirst Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 5.4% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.1% of OceanFirst Financial shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Do analysts recommend ABCB or OCFC?

Ameris Bancorp currently has a consensus price target of $71.43, indicating a potential upside of 6.55%. OceanFirst Financial has a consensus price target of $20.67, indicating a potential upside of 11.77%. Given OceanFirst Financial's higher probable upside, analysts plainly 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

Summary

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