Alerus Financial (ALRS) Competitors

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) and Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, media sentiment, valuation, risk and analyst recommendations.

Which has stronger earnings and valuation, ABCB or ALRS?

Ameris Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Alerus Financial. Ameris Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Alerus Financial, 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
Ameris Bancorp	$1.13B	4.39	$358.68M	$5.68	12.69
Alerus Financial	$336.51M	1.70	$17.78M	$1.69	13.30

Which has more volatility & risk, ABCB or ALRS?

Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.96, indicating that its share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Alerus Financial has a beta of 0.71, indicating that its share price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts prefer ABCB or ALRS?

Ameris Bancorp currently has a consensus price target of $72.14, suggesting a potential upside of 0.09%. Alerus Financial has a consensus price target of $25.63, suggesting a potential upside of 13.99%. Given Alerus Financial's higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Alerus Financial is more favorable than Ameris Bancorp.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ameris Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.86
Alerus Financial	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.25

Does the media favor ABCB or ALRS?

In the previous week, Ameris Bancorp had 11 more articles in the media than Alerus Financial. MarketBeat recorded 13 mentions for Ameris Bancorp and 2 mentions for Alerus Financial. Ameris Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 1.59 beat Alerus Financial's score of 0.49 indicating that Ameris Bancorp is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Ameris Bancorp	12 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Alerus Financial	0 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Is ABCB or ALRS a better dividend stock?

Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Alerus Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. Ameris Bancorp pays out 14.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Alerus Financial pays out 49.7% 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. Alerus Financial has raised its dividend for 25 consecutive years. Alerus Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Do institutionals & insiders hold more shares of ABCB or ALRS?

91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 51.3% of Alerus Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 5.4% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.2% of Alerus Financial shares are held by company 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 ABCB or ALRS more profitable?

Ameris Bancorp has a net margin of 21.46% compared to Alerus Financial's net margin of 11.06%. Alerus Financial's return on equity of 10.21% beat Ameris Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ameris Bancorp	21.46%	9.57%	1.32%
Alerus Financial	11.06%	10.21%	0.98%

Summary

Ameris Bancorp beats Alerus Financial on 15 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.