Customers Bancorp (NYSE:CUBI) and South Atlantic Bancshares (OTCMKTS:SABK) Head-To-Head Survey

Customers Bancorp (NYSE:CUBI) and South Atlantic Bancshares (OTCMKTS:SABK) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

89.3% of Customers Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 13.3% of South Atlantic Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.7% of Customers Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Customers Bancorp and South Atlantic Bancshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Customers Bancorp	12.43%	13.24%	1.05%
South Atlantic Bancshares	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Customers Bancorp and South Atlantic Bancshares, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Customers Bancorp	0	5	5	1	2.64
South Atlantic Bancshares	0	0	0	1	4.00

Customers Bancorp currently has a consensus price target of $83.67, indicating a potential upside of 10.46%. Given Customers Bancorp’s higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Customers Bancorp is more favorable than South Atlantic Bancshares.

Volatility & Risk

Customers Bancorp has a beta of 1.61, meaning that its share price is 61% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, South Atlantic Bancshares has a beta of 0.15, meaning that its share price is 85% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Customers Bancorp and South Atlantic Bancshares”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Customers Bancorp	$1.39 billion	1.86	$181.47 million	$4.93	15.36
South Atlantic Bancshares	$93.28 million	1.57	$14.21 million	$1.89	10.29

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

Summary

Customers Bancorp beats South Atlantic Bancshares on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Customers Bancorp

Customers Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Customers Bank that provides financial products and services to individual consumers, and small and middle market businesses. The company provides deposit banking products, which includes commercial and consumer checking, non-interest-bearing and interest-bearing demand, MMDA, savings, and time deposit accounts. Its lending business offers commercial and industrial, commercial real estate, and multifamily and residential mortgage loans; SBA lending and financing; specialty lending includes fund finance, real estate specialty finance, technology and venture, and healthcare and financial institutions group; commercial loans to mortgage companies, and commercial equipment financing; and fund finance, such as variable rate loans secured by collateral pools to private debt funds; and cash management services. In addition, the company provides digital banking including Banking-as-a-Service to fintech companies, payments and treasury services to businesses, and consumer loans through fintech companies and the TassatPay, a blockchain-based instant B2B payments platform which offers instant payments including over-the-counter desks, exchanges, liquidity providers, market makers, funds, and other B2B verticals. Further, it offers mobile phone and internet banking, wire transfers, electronic bill payment, lock box, remote deposit capture, courier, merchant processing, cash vault, controlled disbursements, positive pay, and cash management services, such as account reconciliation, collections, and sweep accounts. The company was incorporated in 2010 and is headquartered in West Reading, Pennsylvania.

About South Atlantic Bancshares

South Atlantic Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for South Atlantic Bank that provides consumer and commercial banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, and corporations in South Carolina. The company offers checking, money market, and saving accounts, as well as certificate of deposit, individual retirement, and health saving accounts; personal, auto, and recreation loans, as well as home equity and ready reserve overdraft line of credits, and commercial lending products; and credit cards. It also provides cash management and merchant card services; remote deposit capture and automated clearing house services; online, mobile, and telephone banking services; personal and business checks; mortgage products and services; and wealth management services. The company operates offices in Myrtle Beach, Carolina Forest, North Myrtle Beach, Murrells Inlet, Pawleys Island, Georgetown, Mount Pleasant, Charleston, Bluffton, Hilton Head Island, and Beaufort, South Carolina. South Atlantic Bancshares, Inc. was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.