Bank of Hawaii (BOH) Competitors

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

Do insiders & institutionals believe in BOH or ABCB?

82.2% of Bank of Hawaii shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 2.1% of Bank of Hawaii shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 5.4% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media prefer BOH or ABCB?

In the previous week, Bank of Hawaii had 21 more articles in the media than Ameris Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 36 mentions for Bank of Hawaii and 15 mentions for Ameris Bancorp. Bank of Hawaii's average media sentiment score of 0.72 beat Ameris Bancorp's score of 0.67 indicating that Bank of Hawaii is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Bank of Hawaii	8 Very Positive mention(s)	5 Positive mention(s)	12 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Ameris Bancorp	6 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more risk and volatility, BOH or ABCB?

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

Is BOH or ABCB a better dividend stock?

Bank of Hawaii pays an annual dividend of $2.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.6%. Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Bank of Hawaii pays out 73.5% 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. Bank of Hawaii has raised 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.

Do analysts rate BOH or ABCB?

Bank of Hawaii currently has a consensus price target of $74.40, indicating a potential upside of 21.41%. Ameris Bancorp has a consensus price target of $72.14, indicating a potential upside of 9.46%. Given Bank of Hawaii's higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Bank of Hawaii is more favorable than Ameris Bancorp.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Bank of Hawaii	2 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	1.80
Ameris Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.86

Which has stronger valuation and earnings, BOH or ABCB?

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
Bank of Hawaii	$1.04B	2.35	$149.99M	$3.81	16.08
Ameris Bancorp	$1.14B	3.98	$358.68M	$5.68	11.60

Is BOH or ABCB 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
Bank of Hawaii	16.30%	12.67%	0.72%
Ameris Bancorp	21.46%	9.57%	1.32%

Summary

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