Banc of California (BANC) Competitors

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

Is ABCB or BANC a better dividend stock?

Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Banc of California pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. Ameris Bancorp pays out 14.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Banc of California pays out 61.5% 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 risk & volatility, ABCB or BANC?

Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.94, indicating that its stock price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Banc of California has a beta of 0.68, indicating that its stock price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts rate ABCB or BANC?

Ameris Bancorp presently has a consensus target price of $72.14, suggesting a potential downside of 2.37%. Banc of California has a consensus target price of $18.00, suggesting a potential upside of 5.31%. Given Banc of California's higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Banc of California 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
Banc of California	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	9 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.75

Is ABCB or BANC 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
Ameris Bancorp	21.46%	9.57%	1.32%
Banc of California	8.30%	7.37%	0.65%

Do insiders and institutionals believe in ABCB or BANC?

91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.9% of Banc of California shares are held by institutional investors. 5.4% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.7% of Banc of California shares are held 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.

Which has stronger earnings & valuation, ABCB or BANC?

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
Ameris Bancorp	$1.13B	4.50	$358.68M	$5.68	13.01
Banc of California	$1.00B	2.51	$126.89M	$0.65	26.30

Does the media prefer ABCB or BANC?

In the previous week, Banc of California had 12 more articles in the media than Ameris Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 15 mentions for Banc of California and 3 mentions for Ameris Bancorp. Ameris Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 0.90 beat Banc of California's score of 0.10 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)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Banc of California	0 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	6 Neutral mention(s)	3 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Summary

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