Guaranty Bancshares (NASDAQ:GNTY – Get Free Report) and Amerant Bancorp (NYSE:AMTB – Get Free Report) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation and risk.
Volatility and Risk
Guaranty Bancshares has a beta of 0.47, suggesting that its stock price is 53% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Amerant Bancorp has a beta of 1.3, suggesting that its stock price is 30% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Guaranty Bancshares and Amerant Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Guaranty Bancshares | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.50 |
| Amerant Bancorp | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.00 |
Insider & Institutional Ownership
39.4% of Guaranty Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 42.1% of Amerant Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 22.3% of Guaranty Bancshares shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.4% of Amerant Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Dividends
Guaranty Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Amerant Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Guaranty Bancshares pays out 31.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Amerant Bancorp pays out -180.0% 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. Guaranty Bancshares has increased its dividend for 8 consecutive years. Amerant Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Guaranty Bancshares and Amerant Bancorp”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Guaranty Bancshares | $123.09 million | 4.50 | $31.54 million | $3.14 | 15.52 |
| Amerant Bancorp | $605.50 million | 1.21 | -$15.75 million | ($0.20) | -87.45 |
Guaranty Bancshares has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Amerant Bancorp. Amerant Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Guaranty Bancshares, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares Guaranty Bancshares and Amerant Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Guaranty Bancshares | 17.15% | 10.13% | 1.02% |
| Amerant Bancorp | 0.60% | 7.12% | 0.63% |
Summary
Guaranty Bancshares beats Amerant Bancorp on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Guaranty Bancshares
Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Guaranty Bank & Trust, N.A. that provides a range of commercial and consumer banking products and services for small- and medium-sized businesses, professionals, and individuals. The company offers checking and savings, money market, and business accounts, as well as certificates of deposit; and commercial and industrial, construction and development, 1-4 family residential, commercial real estate, farmland, agricultural, multi-family residential, and consumer loans. It also provides trustee, custodial and escrow, investment management, retirement plan, ATM, night depository, direct deposit, and cashier's check services, as well as online and mobile banking services; debit cards; letters of credit; and treasury management services, including wire transfer, positive pay, remote deposit capture, and automated clearinghouse services. Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. was founded in 1913 and is headquartered in Addison, Texas.
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.
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