Contrasting Amerant Bancorp (NASDAQ:AMTB) and Standard Chartered (OTC:SCBFF)

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

Dividends

Amerant Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Standard Chartered pays an annual dividend of $0.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Amerant Bancorp pays out -60.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Standard Chartered pays out 38.1% 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.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Amerant Bancorp and Standard Chartered, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Amerant Bancorp	0	3	2	0	2.40
Standard Chartered	0	0	0	1	4.00

Amerant Bancorp presently has a consensus target price of $24.60, suggesting a potential upside of 40.64%. Given Amerant Bancorp’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Amerant Bancorp is more favorable than Standard Chartered.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Amerant Bancorp and Standard Chartered”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Amerant Bancorp	$317.91 million	2.30	-$15.75 million	($0.60)	-29.15
Standard Chartered	$37.48 billion	1.06	$3.47 billion	$1.47	10.99

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

42.1% of Amerant Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.4% of Amerant Bancorp 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.

Volatility and Risk

Amerant Bancorp has a beta of 1.32, meaning that its stock price is 32% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Standard Chartered has a beta of 0.74, meaning that its stock price is 26% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Amerant Bancorp	-8.38%	6.36%	0.51%
Standard Chartered	10.92%	9.49%	0.58%

Summary

Standard Chartered beats Amerant Bancorp on 10 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. 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 Standard Chartered

Standard Chartered PLC, together with its subsidiaries, provides various banking products and services in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas. The company operates in three segments: Corporate, Commercial & Institutional Banking; Consumer, Private & Business Banking; and Ventures. It offers retail products, such as deposits, mortgages, credit cards, and personal loans; wealth management products and services that include investments, portfolio management, insurance, and wealth advice; and transaction banking services, such as cash management, working capital, and trade financing products. The company provides financial markets products and services that comprise project and export financing; debt capital markets and leveraged financing; financing and securities services; sales and structuring; macro, commodities, and credit trading; and market research services. In addition, it offers digital banking solutions. It serves financial institutions, governments, banks, investors, corporations, small to medium-sized businesses, and individuals. Standard Chartered PLC was founded in 1853 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.