Bank OZK (OZK) Competitors

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

Do analysts rate ABCB or OZK?

Ameris Bancorp currently has a consensus target price of $71.43, suggesting a potential upside of 5.45%. Bank OZK has a consensus target price of $50.86, suggesting a potential downside of 0.36%. Given Ameris Bancorp's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Ameris Bancorp is more favorable than Bank OZK.

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	0 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.13

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 1.2%. Bank OZK pays an annual dividend of $1.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Ameris Bancorp pays out 14.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Bank OZK pays out 28.2% 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 increased 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 institutionals and insiders believe 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. 5.4% 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 hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Is ABCB or OZK more profitable?

Bank OZK has a net margin of 25.66% compared to Ameris Bancorp's net margin of 21.46%. Bank OZK's return on equity of 13.46% 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	25.66%	13.46%	1.88%

Does the media refer more to ABCB or OZK?

In the previous week, Bank OZK had 9 more articles in the media than Ameris Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 14 mentions for Bank OZK and 5 mentions for Ameris Bancorp. Ameris Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 0.67 beat Bank OZK's score of 0.64 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	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Bank OZK	5 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	7 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has better valuation & earnings, 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	$1.12B	4.15	$358.68M	$5.40	12.54
Bank OZK	$2.77B	2.09	$716.46M	$6.10	8.37

Which has more risk and volatility, ABCB or OZK?

Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.93, suggesting that its stock price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bank OZK has a beta of 0.85, suggesting that its stock price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Bank OZK beats Ameris Bancorp on 10 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.