Contrasting United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) and Amerant Bancorp (NYSE:AMTB)

Amerant Bancorp (NYSE:AMTB) and United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends and institutional ownership.

Volatility and Risk

Amerant Bancorp has a beta of 0.82, suggesting that its share price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, United Community Banks has a beta of 0.88, suggesting that its share price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Amerant Bancorp and United Community Banks’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Amerant Bancorp	10.63%	9.36%	0.86%
United Community Banks	9.06%	9.66%	1.23%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for Amerant Bancorp and United Community Banks, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Amerant Bancorp	0	3	3	0	2.50
United Community Banks	0	2	4	2	3.00

Amerant Bancorp currently has a consensus price target of $30.25, suggesting a potential upside of 0.68%. United Community Banks has a consensus price target of $40.00, suggesting a potential upside of 7.97%. Given United Community Banks’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe United Community Banks is more favorable than Amerant Bancorp.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Amerant Bancorp and United Community Banks”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Amerant Bancorp	$676.04 million	1.74	$52.42 million	$1.69	17.78
United Community Banks	$1.54 billion	2.91	$328.10 million	$1.18	31.39

United Community Banks has higher revenue and earnings than Amerant Bancorp. Amerant Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than United Community Banks, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

42.1% of Amerant Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 82.3% of United Community Banks shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.7% of Amerant Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of United Community Banks shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Amerant Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. United Community Banks pays an annual dividend of $1.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Amerant Bancorp pays out 21.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. United Community Banks pays out 88.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Summary

United Community Banks beats Amerant Bancorp on 13 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Amerant Bancorp

Amerant Bancorp Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Amerant Bank, N.A. that provides banking products and services to individuals and businesses in the United States and internationally. The company offers checking, savings, and money market accounts; and certificates of deposits. It also provides variable and fixed rate commercial real estate loans; loans secured by owner-occupied properties; loans to domestic and foreign individuals primarily secured by personal residence; working capital loans, asset-based lending, participations in shared national credits, purchased receivables, and small business administration loans; loans to financial institutions and acceptances; and consumer loans and overdrafts, such as automobile, personal, or loans secured by cash or securities and revolving credit card agreements. In addition, the company offers trust and estate planning products and services to high-net-worth customers, brokerage and investment advisory services in global capital markets, and wealth management and fiduciary services. Further, it provides debit and credit cards, night depositories, direct deposits, cashier’s checks, safe deposit boxes, letters of credit, and treasury management services, including wire transfer, remote deposit capture, and automated clearinghouse services; derivative instruments; and online and mobile banking, account balances, statements and other documents, online transfers and bill payment, and electronic delivery of customer statements services, as well as automated teller machines, and banking by mobile devices, telephone, and mail. As of December 31, 2021, the company operated 24 banking centers comprising 17 in Florida and 7 in Texas. It also operates loan production offices in Tampa, Florida. The company was formerly known as Mercantil Bank Holding Corporation and changed its name to Amerant Bancorp Inc. in June 2019. Amerant Bancorp Inc. was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Coral Gables, Florida.

About United Community Banks

United Community Banks, Inc. operates as the financial holding company for United Community Bank that provides financial products and services to commercial, retail, government, education, energy, health care, and real estate sectors. The company accepts various deposit products, including checking, savings, money market, and other deposit accounts. It also offers lending services, including real estate, consumer, and commercial loans, to individuals, small businesses, mid-sized commercial businesses, and non-profit organizations, as well as secured and unsecured, and mortgage loans. In addition, the company originate loans partially guaranteed by the SBA and USDA loan programs. Further, it provides wealth management services comprising financial planning, customized portfolio management, and investment advice; trust services to manage fiduciary assets; non-deposit investment products; and insurance products, including life insurance, long-term care insurance, and tax-deferred annuities, as well as invests in residential and commercial mortgage-backed securities, asset-backed securities, the U.S. treasury, the U.S. agency, and municipal obligations. Additionally, the company offers reinsurance on a property insurance contract; insurance agency services; brokerage services; and payment processing, merchant, wire transfer, private banking, and other related financial services. It operates through a network of 171 branches in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. United Community Banks, Inc. was founded in 1950 and is headquartered in Blairsville, Georgia.