Bank of Hawaii (BOH) Competitors

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

Does the media refer more to ABCB or BOH?

In the previous week, Ameris Bancorp had 1 more articles in the media than Bank of Hawaii. MarketBeat recorded 14 mentions for Ameris Bancorp and 13 mentions for Bank of Hawaii. Ameris Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 1.59 beat Bank of Hawaii's score of 0.85 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	13 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Bank of Hawaii	4 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

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

91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 82.2% of Bank of Hawaii shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.4% of Ameris Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.1% of Bank of Hawaii shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Do analysts prefer ABCB or BOH?

Ameris Bancorp currently has a consensus price target of $72.14, suggesting a potential upside of 0.09%. Bank of Hawaii has a consensus price target of $75.00, suggesting a potential upside of 9.17%. Given Bank of Hawaii's higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Bank of Hawaii 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 of Hawaii	1 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Is ABCB or BOH more profitable?

Ameris Bancorp has a net margin of 21.46% compared to Bank of Hawaii's net margin of 16.30%. Bank of Hawaii's return on equity of 12.67% 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 of Hawaii	16.30%	12.67%	0.72%

Is ABCB or BOH a better dividend stock?

Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Bank of Hawaii pays an annual dividend of $2.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. Ameris Bancorp pays out 14.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Bank of Hawaii pays out 73.5% 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. Bank of Hawaii has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Bank of Hawaii is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has more volatility and risk, ABCB or BOH?

Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.96, meaning that its share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bank of Hawaii has a beta of 0.8, meaning that its share price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has stronger earnings and valuation, ABCB or BOH?

Ameris Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Bank of Hawaii. Ameris Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Bank of Hawaii, 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	4.39	$358.68M	$5.68	12.69
Bank of Hawaii	$663.41M	4.12	$149.99M	$3.81	18.03

Summary

Ameris Bancorp beats Bank of Hawaii on 14 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.