Bank OZK (OZK) Competitors

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

Is ABCB or OZK more profitable?

Bank OZK has a net margin of 25.83% compared to Ameris Bancorp's net margin of 21.46%. Bank OZK's return on equity of 13.24% beat Ameris Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ameris Bancorp	21.46%	9.57%	1.32%
Bank OZK	25.83%	13.24%	1.84%

Which has more volatility & risk, ABCB or OZK?

Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.94, suggesting that its share price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bank OZK has a beta of 0.88, suggesting that its share price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has better earnings & valuation, ABCB or OZK?

Bank OZK has higher revenue and earnings than Ameris Bancorp. Bank OZK 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	$1.13B	4.56	$358.68M	$5.68	13.18
Bank OZK	$2.77B	2.10	$716.46M	$6.16	8.33

Is ABCB or OZK a better dividend stock?

Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Bank OZK pays an annual dividend of $1.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Ameris Bancorp pays out 14.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Bank OZK pays out 28.6% 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. Bank OZK has raised its dividend for 29 consecutive years. Bank OZK is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Do analysts rate ABCB or OZK?

Ameris Bancorp presently has a consensus target price of $72.14, indicating a potential downside of 3.66%. Bank OZK has a consensus target price of $57.80, indicating a potential upside of 12.65%. Given Bank OZK's higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Bank OZK 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
Bank OZK	1 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.45

Does the media refer more to ABCB or OZK?

In the previous week, Bank OZK had 12 more articles in the media than Ameris Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 12 mentions for Bank OZK and 0 mentions for Ameris Bancorp. Ameris Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 1.21 beat Bank OZK's score of 0.60 indicating that Ameris Bancorp is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
Ameris Bancorp	Positive
Bank OZK	Positive

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

91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.2% of Bank OZK shares are held by institutional investors. 5.5% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.7% of Bank OZK shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Bank OZK beats Ameris Bancorp on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.