Analyzing Amerant Bancorp (NYSE:AMTB) & Capital City Bank Group (NASDAQ:CCBG)

Amerant Bancorp (NYSE:AMTB) and Capital City Bank Group (NASDAQ:CCBG) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, risk, valuation, dividends and profitability.

Dividends

Amerant Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Capital City Bank Group pays an annual dividend of $1.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Amerant Bancorp pays out 21.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Capital City Bank Group pays out 29.5% 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. Capital City Bank Group has raised its dividend for 11 consecutive years. Capital City Bank Group is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

This table compares Amerant Bancorp and Capital City Bank Group’s 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%
Capital City Bank Group	21.85%	11.12%	1.42%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Amerant Bancorp and Capital City Bank Group, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Amerant Bancorp	0	3	3	0	2.50
Capital City Bank Group	0	3	0	1	2.50

Amerant Bancorp presently has a consensus target price of $30.25, suggesting a potential downside of 0.58%. Capital City Bank Group has a consensus target price of $51.75, suggesting a potential downside of 1.37%. Given Amerant Bancorp’s higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Amerant Bancorp is more favorable than Capital City Bank Group.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

42.1% of Amerant Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 44.6% of Capital City Bank Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.7% of Amerant Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 19.8% of Capital City Bank Group shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Amerant Bancorp and Capital City Bank Group”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Amerant Bancorp	$676.04 million	1.76	$52.42 million	$1.69	18.00
Capital City Bank Group	$286.74 million	3.13	$61.56 million	$3.66	14.34

Capital City Bank Group has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Amerant Bancorp. Capital City Bank Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Amerant Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

Amerant Bancorp has a beta of 0.8, indicating that its share price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Capital City Bank Group has a beta of 0.33, indicating that its share price is 67% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Capital City Bank Group beats Amerant Bancorp on 11 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 Capital City Bank Group

Capital City Bank Group, Inc. operates as the financial holding company for Capital City Bank that provides a range of banking- related services to individual and corporate clients. The company offers financing for commercial business properties, equipment, inventories, and accounts receivable, as well as commercial leasing and letters of credit; treasury management services; and merchant credit card transaction processing services. It also provides commercial and residential real estate lending products, as well as fixed and adjustable-rate residential mortgage loans; personal, automobile, boat/RV, and home equity loans; and credit card programs. In addition, the company offers institutional banking services, including customized checking and savings accounts, cash management systems, tax-exempt loans, lines of credit, and term loans to meet the needs of state and local governments, public schools and colleges, charities, membership, and not-for-profit associations. Further, it provides consumer banking services comprising checking accounts, savings programs, interactive/automated teller machines, debit/credit cards, night deposit services, safe deposit facilities, and online and mobile banking services. Additionally, the company provides asset management for individuals through agency, personal trust, IRA, and personal investment management accounts; and various retail securities products, such as the U.S. government bonds, tax-free municipal bonds, stocks, mutual funds, unit investment trusts, annuities, life insurance, and long-term health care, as well as business, estate, financial, insurance and business planning, tax planning, and asset protection advisory services. Capital City Bank Group, Inc. was founded in 1895 and is headquartered in Tallahassee, Florida.