Alerus Financial (ALRS) Competitors

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

Is ALRS or ABCB a better dividend stock?

Alerus Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Alerus Financial pays out 68.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Ameris Bancorp pays out 14.8% 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 analysts rate ALRS or ABCB?

Alerus Financial currently has a consensus target price of $23.00, suggesting a potential upside of 0.70%. Ameris Bancorp has a consensus target price of $71.43, suggesting a potential upside of 5.45%. Given Ameris Bancorp's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Ameris Bancorp is more favorable than Alerus Financial.

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

Which has more volatility and risk, ALRS or ABCB?

Alerus Financial has a beta of 0.7, suggesting that its share price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.93, suggesting that its share price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500.

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

51.3% of Alerus Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 4.2% of Alerus Financial shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.4% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media refer more to ALRS or ABCB?

In the previous week, Alerus Financial had 2 more articles in the media than Ameris Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 6 mentions for Alerus Financial and 4 mentions for Ameris Bancorp. Ameris Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 0.59 beat Alerus Financial's score of -0.11 indicating that Ameris Bancorp is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Alerus Financial	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Ameris Bancorp	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is ALRS or ABCB more profitable?

Ameris Bancorp has a net margin of 21.46% compared to Alerus Financial's net margin of 7.81%. Ameris Bancorp's return on equity of 9.57% beat Alerus Financial's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Alerus Financial	7.81%	8.32%	0.77%
Ameris Bancorp	21.46%	9.57%	1.32%

Which has better earnings & valuation, ALRS or ABCB?

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
Alerus Financial	$336.51M	1.72	$17.78M	$1.22	18.72
Ameris Bancorp	$1.12B	4.15	$358.68M	$5.40	12.54

Summary

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