Hope Bancorp (HOPE) Competitors

Hope Bancorp (NASDAQ:HOPE) and Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, media sentiment and risk.

Does the media prefer HOPE or ABCB?

In the previous week, Ameris Bancorp had 4 more articles in the media than Hope Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 10 mentions for Ameris Bancorp and 6 mentions for Hope Bancorp. Hope Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 1.15 beat Ameris Bancorp's score of 1.13 indicating that Hope Bancorp is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Hope Bancorp	4 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Ameris Bancorp	7 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has better earnings & valuation, HOPE or ABCB?

Ameris Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Hope Bancorp. Ameris Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Hope Bancorp, 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
Hope Bancorp	$1.00B	1.47	$99.63M	$0.78	14.69
Ameris Bancorp	$1.12B	4.14	$358.68M	$5.40	12.49

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

84.0% of Hope Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.2% of Hope Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.4% of Ameris Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Is HOPE or ABCB more profitable?

Ameris Bancorp has a net margin of 21.46% compared to Hope Bancorp's net margin of 9.82%. Ameris Bancorp's return on equity of 9.57% beat Hope Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hope Bancorp	9.82%	4.60%	0.57%
Ameris Bancorp	21.46%	9.57%	1.32%

Which has more volatility & risk, HOPE or ABCB?

Hope Bancorp has a beta of 0.9, indicating that its share price is 10% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.93, indicating that its share price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts prefer HOPE or ABCB?

Hope Bancorp currently has a consensus target price of $13.50, suggesting a potential upside of 17.83%. Ameris Bancorp has a consensus target price of $71.43, suggesting a potential upside of 5.92%. Given Hope Bancorp's higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Hope Bancorp is more favorable than Ameris Bancorp.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hope Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33
Ameris Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.86

Is HOPE or ABCB a better dividend stock?

Hope Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.9%. Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Hope Bancorp pays out 71.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Ameris Bancorp pays out 14.8% 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.

Summary

Ameris Bancorp beats Hope Bancorp on 14 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.