Head-To-Head Contrast: OptimumBank (NASDAQ:OPHC) and Amerant Bancorp (NYSE:AMTB)

OptimumBank (NASDAQ:OPHC) and Amerant Bancorp (NYSE:AMTB) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation and dividends.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for OptimumBank and Amerant Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
OptimumBank	0	0	0	0	0.00
Amerant Bancorp	1	0	0	0	1.00

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares OptimumBank 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
OptimumBank	$43.11 million	1.09	$6.28 million	$1.28	3.12
Amerant Bancorp	$330.31 million	2.31	-$15.75 million	($0.20)	-91.55

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

7.4% of OptimumBank shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 42.1% of Amerant Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 13.9% of OptimumBank shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 5.4% of Amerant Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
OptimumBank	19.62%	14.10%	1.31%
Amerant Bancorp	0.60%	7.12%	0.63%

Volatility & Risk

OptimumBank has a beta of 0.41, suggesting that its share price is 59% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Amerant Bancorp has a beta of 1.3, suggesting that its share price is 30% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

OptimumBank beats Amerant Bancorp on 7 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About OptimumBank

OptimumBank Holdings, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for OptimumBank that provides various consumer and commercial banking services to individuals and businesses. It accepts demand interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing, savings, money market, and NOW accounts, as well as time deposits, wire transfers, ACH services, and certificates of deposit. The company also offers residential and commercial real estate, multi-family real estate, land and construction loans; commercial loans are generally used for working capital purposes or for acquiring equipment, inventory, and furniture; and consumer loans for various purposes, including purchases of automobiles, recreational vehicles, boats, home improvements, lines of credit, personal, and deposit account collateralized loans. In addition, it provides Visa debit and ATM cards; cash management, notary, and night depository services; and direct deposits, money orders, cashier's checks, domestic collections, and banking by mail, as well as internet banking services. The company was founded in 2000 and is based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

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.