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 companies based on the strength of their media sentiment, institutional ownership, dividends, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation and profitability.

Which has more risk and volatility, ABCB or ALRS?

Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.97, meaning that its stock price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Alerus Financial has a beta of 0.71, meaning that its stock price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in ABCB or ALRS?

91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 51.3% of Alerus Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.4% of Ameris Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 4.2% of Alerus Financial shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Does the media prefer ABCB or ALRS?

In the previous week, Ameris Bancorp and Ameris Bancorp both had 7 articles in the media. Ameris Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 1.52 beat Alerus Financial's score of 0.96 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	6 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	3 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts recommend ABCB or ALRS?

Ameris Bancorp currently has a consensus price target of $72.14, suggesting a potential downside of 3.43%. Alerus Financial has a consensus price target of $25.63, suggesting a potential upside of 12.84%. Given Alerus Financial's higher possible upside, analysts plainly 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

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%

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.

Which has preferable earnings & 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	4.55	$358.68M	$5.68	13.15
Alerus Financial	$336.51M	1.71	$17.78M	$1.69	13.44

Summary

Ameris Bancorp beats Alerus Financial on 14 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.