Reviewing First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) & Amerant Bancorp (NASDAQ:AMTB)

Amerant Bancorp (NASDAQ:AMTB) and First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation and dividends.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Amerant Bancorp and First Financial Bancorp., as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Amerant Bancorp	0	3	1	0	2.25
First Financial Bancorp.	0	2	1	0	2.33

Amerant Bancorp presently has a consensus target price of $26.25, suggesting a potential upside of 23.30%. First Financial Bancorp. has a consensus target price of $24.67, suggesting a potential upside of 17.13%. Given Amerant Bancorp’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Amerant Bancorp is more favorable than First Financial Bancorp..

Profitability

This table compares Amerant Bancorp and First Financial Bancorp.’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Amerant Bancorp	5.11%	8.88%	0.68%
First Financial Bancorp.	22.94%	12.16%	1.54%

Dividends

Amerant Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. First Financial Bancorp. pays an annual dividend of $0.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.4%. Amerant Bancorp pays out 37.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Financial Bancorp. pays out 34.2% 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. First Financial Bancorp. is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Risk and Volatility

Amerant Bancorp has a beta of 0.99, meaning that its stock price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Financial Bancorp. has a beta of 1.05, meaning that its stock price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Amerant Bancorp and First Financial Bancorp.’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Amerant Bancorp	$636.08 million	1.12	$32.49 million	$0.97	21.95
First Financial Bancorp.	$1.12 billion	1.79	$255.86 million	$2.69	7.83

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

42.1% of Amerant Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 77.2% of First Financial Bancorp. shares are held by institutional investors. 13.5% of Amerant Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.1% of First Financial Bancorp. shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

First Financial Bancorp. beats Amerant Bancorp on 12 of the 15 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. It offers checking, savings, business, and money market accounts; cash management services; and certificates of deposits. The company also provides variable and fixed rate commercial real estate loans; owner-occupied; single-family residential; commercial; and consumer loans and overdrafts, such as automobile, personal, or loans secured by cash or securities and revolving credit card agreements. In addition, it 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, the company 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. It operates banking centers in Florida and Texas. 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 First Financial Bancorp.

First Financial Bancorp. operates as the bank holding company for First Financial Bank that provides commercial banking and related services to individuals and businesses in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Illinois. The company offers checking, savings, and money-market accounts; and accepts various deposit products, such as interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing accounts, time deposits, and cash management services for commercial customers. It also provides real estate loans secured by residential property, such as one to four family residential housing units or commercial property comprising owner-occupied and/or investor income producing real estate consisting of apartments, shopping centers, and office buildings; commercial and industrial loans for various purposes, including inventory, receivables, and equipment, as well as equipment and leasehold improvement financing for franchisees; consumer loans comprising new and used vehicle loans, second mortgages on residential real estate, and unsecured loans; and home equity lines of credit. In addition, the company offers commercial financing to the insurance industry, registered investment advisors, certified public accountants, indirect auto finance companies, and restaurant franchisees. Further, it provides a range of trust and wealth management services; lease and equipment financing services; and currency payments, foreign exchange hedging, and other advisory products. First Financial Bancorp. was founded in 1863 and is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.