Stepan (SCL) Competitors

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

Which has more volatility and risk, SCL or ABCB?

Stepan has a beta of 0.98, suggesting that its share price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.96, suggesting that its share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has stronger earnings & valuation, SCL or ABCB?

Ameris Bancorp has lower revenue, but higher earnings 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
Stepan	$2.18B	0.52	$50.37M	$2.54	19.81
Ameris Bancorp	$1.14B	4.23	$358.68M	$5.68	12.32

Is SCL or ABCB a better dividend stock?

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

Do institutionals & insiders believe in SCL or ABCB?

82.7% of Stepan shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.6% of Stepan shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 5.4% of Ameris Bancorp shares are owned by 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.

Does the media prefer SCL or ABCB?

In the previous week, Ameris Bancorp had 2 more articles in the media than Stepan. MarketBeat recorded 5 mentions for Ameris Bancorp and 3 mentions for Stepan. Ameris Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 1.27 beat Stepan's score of 0.59 indicating that Ameris Bancorp is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Stepan	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Ameris Bancorp	3 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts recommend SCL or ABCB?

Ameris Bancorp has a consensus target price of $72.14, suggesting a potential upside of 3.05%. Given Ameris Bancorp's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Ameris Bancorp is more favorable than Stepan.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Stepan	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00
Ameris Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.86

Is SCL or ABCB 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
Stepan	2.57%	4.78%	2.42%
Ameris Bancorp	21.46%	9.57%	1.32%

Summary

Ameris Bancorp beats Stepan on 12 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.