Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) vs. Amalgamated Financial (NASDAQ:AMAL) Head-To-Head Comparison

Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) and Amalgamated Financial (NASDAQ:AMAL) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, risk and institutional ownership.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

81.8% of Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 75.9% of Amalgamated Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.5% of Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of Amalgamated Financial shares are owned by 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 Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida and Amalgamated Financial’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida	$768.13 million	2.81	$104.03 million	$1.24	20.48
Amalgamated Financial	$387.41 million	1.89	$87.98 million	$2.86	8.39

Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida has higher revenue and earnings than Amalgamated Financial. Amalgamated Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida and Amalgamated Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida	13.54%	5.04%	0.70%
Amalgamated Financial	22.71%	16.60%	1.15%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida and Amalgamated Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida	0	2	1	0	2.33
Amalgamated Financial	0	0	2	0	3.00

Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida currently has a consensus price target of $25.88, indicating a potential upside of 1.91%. Amalgamated Financial has a consensus price target of $27.50, indicating a potential upside of 14.58%. Given Amalgamated Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Amalgamated Financial is more favorable than Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida.

Dividends

Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Amalgamated Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida pays out 58.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Amalgamated Financial pays out 14.0% 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. Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years. Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Risk and Volatility

Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida has a beta of 1.16, suggesting that its share price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Amalgamated Financial has a beta of 0.93, suggesting that its share price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida beats Amalgamated Financial on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida operates as the bank holding company for Seacoast National Bank that provides integrated financial services to retail and commercial customers in Florida. The company offers noninterest and interest-bearing demand deposit, money market, savings, and customer sweep accounts; time certificates of deposit; construction and land development, commercial and residential real estate, and commercial and financial loans; and consumer loans, including installment loans and revolving lines, as well as loans for automobiles, boats, and personal and family purposes. It also provides wealth management, mortgage, and insurance services through online and mobile banking solutions, as well as brokerage and annuity services. Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida was founded in 1926 and is headquartered in Stuart, Florida.

About Amalgamated Financial

Amalgamated Financial Corp. operates as the bank holding company for Amalgamated Bank that provides commercial and retail banking, investment management, and trust and custody services for commercial and retail customers in the United States. The company accepts various deposit products, including non-interest bearing accounts, interest-bearing demand products, savings accounts, money market accounts, NOW accounts, and certificates of deposit. It also provides various commercial loans comprising commercial and industrial, multifamily mortgage, and commercial real estate loans; residential mortgage loans; and retail loans, such as residential real estate, consumer solar, and consumer and other loans. In addition, the company offers online banking, bill payment, online cash management, and safe deposit box rental services; debit and ATM cards; and trust, custody, and investment management services comprising asset safekeeping, corporate actions, income collections, proxy, account transition, asset transfers, and conversion management services. Further, it provides investment products, such as funds spanning equity, fixed-income, real estate, and alternative investment products; and brokerage, asset management, and insurance products. Amalgamated Financial Corp. was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in New York, New York.