Ameris Bancorp (ABCB) Competitors

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) and Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, media sentiment, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings and risk.

Is BANR or ABCB more profitable?

Ameris Bancorp has a net margin of 21.46% compared to Banner's net margin of 21.15%. Banner's return on equity of 10.06% beat Ameris Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Banner	21.15%	10.06%	1.13%
Ameris Bancorp	21.46%	9.57%	1.32%

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in BANR or ABCB?

87.3% of Banner shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.6% of Banner shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 5.5% of Ameris 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.

Is BANR or ABCB a better dividend stock?

Banner pays an annual dividend of $1.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Banner pays out 36.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Ameris Bancorp pays out 14.1% 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.

Which has more volatility and risk, BANR or ABCB?

Banner has a beta of 0.95, suggesting that its stock price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.97, suggesting that its stock price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media refer more to BANR or ABCB?

In the previous week, Ameris Bancorp had 2 more articles in the media than Banner. MarketBeat recorded 9 mentions for Ameris Bancorp and 7 mentions for Banner. Ameris Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 1.59 beat Banner's score of 1.29 indicating that Ameris Bancorp is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Banner	5 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Ameris Bancorp	8 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive

Which has preferable valuation and earnings, BANR or ABCB?

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

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Banner	$630.68M	3.64	$168.90M	$5.25	12.64
Ameris Bancorp	$1.13B	4.42	$358.68M	$5.68	12.78

Do analysts prefer BANR or ABCB?

Banner presently has a consensus target price of $70.17, indicating a potential upside of 5.73%. Ameris Bancorp has a consensus target price of $72.14, indicating a potential downside of 0.62%. Given Banner's higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Banner is more favorable than Ameris Bancorp.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Banner	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.60
Ameris Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.86

Summary

Ameris Bancorp beats Banner on 15 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.