Amerant Bancorp (NASDAQ:AMTB) & Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (OTCMKTS:IDCBY) Critical Survey

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (OTCMKTS:IDCBY) and Amerant Bancorp (NASDAQ:AMTB) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership and profitability.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Amerant Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China	0	0	0	0	N/A
Amerant Bancorp	0	4	1	0	2.20

Amerant Bancorp has a consensus price target of $25.20, suggesting a potential upside of 12.55%. Given Amerant Bancorp’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Amerant Bancorp is more favorable than Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.

Dividends

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China pays an annual dividend of $0.69 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.3%. Amerant Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Amerant Bancorp pays out 52.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

42.1% of Amerant Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 13.5% 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 company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Amerant Bancorp’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China	$209.49 billion	0.94	$53.57 billion	N/A	N/A
Amerant Bancorp	$302.38 million	2.50	$32.49 million	$0.68	32.93

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China has higher revenue and earnings than Amerant Bancorp.

Risk and Volatility

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China has a beta of 0.13, suggesting that its share price is 87% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Amerant Bancorp has a beta of 1.01, suggesting that its share price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Amerant Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China	N/A	N/A	N/A
Amerant Bancorp	3.51%	7.79%	0.59%

Summary

Amerant Bancorp beats Industrial and Commercial Bank of China on 9 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Industrial and Commercial Bank of China

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited, together with its subsidiaries, provides banking products and services in the People's Republic of China and internationally. The company operates through Corporate Banking, Personal Banking, and Treasury Operations segments. The Corporate Banking segment offers financial products and services to corporations, government agencies, and financial institutions. Its products and services include trade financing, deposit, corporate wealth management, custody, and various corporate intermediary services, as well as corporate loans. Its Personal Banking segment provides financial products and services to individual customers. This segment's products and services comprise personal loans and cards, deposits, and personal wealth management and intermediary services. The Treasury Business segment is involved in the money market transactions, investment securities, and proprietary and foreign exchange transactions businesses. It also offers e-banking services, investment banking, financial leasing, and insurance services. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited was incorporated in 1984 and is based in Beijing, the People's Republic of China.

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.