Stepan (SCL) Competitors

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) and Stepan (NYSE:SCL) are related companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, media sentiment, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and risk.

Which has better earnings and valuation, ABCB or SCL?

Ameris Bancorp has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Stepan. Ameris Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Stepan, 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	4.44	$358.68M	$5.68	12.82
Stepan	$2.18B	0.51	$50.37M	$2.54	19.28

Do analysts rate ABCB or SCL?

Ameris Bancorp presently has a consensus target price of $72.14, indicating a potential downside of 0.92%. Given Ameris Bancorp's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Ameris Bancorp is more favorable than Stepan.

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
Stepan	1 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	1.00

Is ABCB or SCL a better dividend stock?

Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Stepan pays an annual dividend of $1.54 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Ameris Bancorp pays out 14.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Stepan pays out 60.6% 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. Stepan has raised its dividend for 57 consecutive years. Stepan is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Is ABCB or SCL more profitable?

Ameris Bancorp has a net margin of 21.46% compared to Stepan's net margin of 2.57%. Ameris Bancorp's return on equity of 9.57% beat Stepan's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ameris Bancorp	21.46%	9.57%	1.32%
Stepan	2.57%	4.78%	2.42%

Which has more volatility and risk, ABCB or SCL?

Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.97, suggesting that its share price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Stepan has a beta of 0.97, suggesting that its share price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in ABCB or SCL?

91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 82.7% of Stepan shares are held by institutional investors. 5.5% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 7.6% of Stepan shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media favor ABCB or SCL?

In the previous week, Ameris Bancorp had 3 more articles in the media than Stepan. MarketBeat recorded 7 mentions for Ameris Bancorp and 4 mentions for Stepan. Ameris Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 1.62 beat Stepan's score of 1.08 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	6 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Stepan	3 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Summary

Ameris Bancorp beats Stepan on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.