Analyzing Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) and Live Oak Bancshares (NASDAQ:LOB)

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) and Live Oak Bancshares (NASDAQ:LOB) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, dividends and valuation.

Volatility and Risk

Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.97, suggesting that its share price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Live Oak Bancshares has a beta of 2, suggesting that its share price is 100% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 64.0% of Live Oak Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. 5.4% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 23.4% of Live Oak Bancshares shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Ameris Bancorp and Live Oak Bancshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ameris Bancorp	21.46%	9.57%	1.32%
Live Oak Bancshares	7.10%	6.88%	0.55%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Ameris Bancorp and Live Oak Bancshares”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ameris Bancorp	$1.17 billion	4.60	$358.68 million	$6.00	13.26
Live Oak Bancshares	$541.23 million	3.10	$77.47 million	$2.22	16.49

Ameris Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Live Oak Bancshares. Ameris Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Live Oak Bancshares, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Live Oak Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.3%. Ameris Bancorp pays out 13.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Live Oak Bancshares pays out 5.4% 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.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Ameris Bancorp and Live Oak Bancshares, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ameris Bancorp	0	2	4	0	2.67
Live Oak Bancshares	0	2	2	0	2.50

Ameris Bancorp presently has a consensus target price of $86.50, indicating a potential upside of 8.75%. Live Oak Bancshares has a consensus target price of $44.20, indicating a potential upside of 20.77%. Given Live Oak Bancshares’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Live Oak Bancshares is more favorable than Ameris Bancorp.

Summary

Ameris Bancorp beats Live Oak Bancshares on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ameris Bancorp

Ameris Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for Ameris Bank that provides range of banking services to retail and commercial customers. It operates through five segments: Banking Division, Retail Mortgage Division, Warehouse Lending Division, SBA Division, and Premium Finance Division. The company offers commercial and retail checking, regular interest-bearing savings, money market, individual retirement, and certificates of deposit accounts. It also provides commercial real estate, residential real estate mortgage, agricultural, and commercial and industrial loans; consumer loans, including motor vehicle, home improvement, and home equity loans, as well as loans secured by savings accounts and personal credit lines. In addition, the company originates, administers, and services commercial insurance premium loans, equipment finance loans, and small business administration loans. It operates full service domestic banking offices, and mortgage and loan production offices. The company was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

About Live Oak Bancshares

Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Live Oak Banking Company that provides various banking products and services in the United States. It operates through two segments, Banking and Fintech. The company accepts various deposit products, including noninterest-bearing demand, as well as interest-bearing checking, money market, savings, and time deposits. It also offers commercial and industrial loans; construction and development loans; owner occupied and non-owner occupied collateral commercial real estate loans; and commercial land loans. In addition, the company provides settlement, accounting, and securitization services for government guaranteed loans; financing for renewable energy application industry; wealth and investment management services to high-net-worth individuals and families; and investment advisory services to a series of funds focused on providing venture capital to new and emerging financial technology companies. Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. was incorporated in 2008 and is headquartered in Wilmington, North Carolina.