Banc of California (BANC) Competitors

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

Is BANC or ABCB a better dividend stock?

Banc of California pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Banc of California pays out 61.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Ameris Bancorp pays out 14.1% 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.

Which has more volatility and risk, BANC or ABCB?

Banc of California has a beta of 0.69, indicating that its share price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.96, indicating that its share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is BANC or ABCB more profitable?

Ameris Bancorp has a net margin of 21.46% compared to Banc of California's net margin of 8.30%. Ameris Bancorp's return on equity of 9.57% beat Banc of California's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Banc of California	8.30%	7.37%	0.65%
Ameris Bancorp	21.46%	9.57%	1.32%

Which has stronger earnings & valuation, BANC or ABCB?

Ameris Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Banc of California. Ameris Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Banc of California, 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
Banc of California	$1.00B	2.08	$126.89M	$0.65	21.77
Ameris Bancorp	$1.14B	3.98	$358.68M	$5.68	11.60

Do analysts rate BANC or ABCB?

Banc of California presently has a consensus target price of $17.33, suggesting a potential upside of 22.50%. Ameris Bancorp has a consensus target price of $72.14, suggesting a potential upside of 9.46%. Given Banc of California's higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Banc of California is more favorable than Ameris Bancorp.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Banc of California	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	8 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67
Ameris Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.86

Does the media refer more to BANC or ABCB?

In the previous week, Ameris Bancorp had 5 more articles in the media than Banc of California. MarketBeat recorded 15 mentions for Ameris Bancorp and 10 mentions for Banc of California. Banc of California's average media sentiment score of 0.84 beat Ameris Bancorp's score of 0.67 indicating that Banc of California is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Banc of California	4 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Ameris Bancorp	6 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do institutionals and insiders believe in BANC or ABCB?

86.9% of Banc of California shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.7% of Banc of California shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 5.4% of Ameris Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Ameris Bancorp beats Banc of California on 13 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.