Atlantic Union Bankshares (AUB) Competitors

Atlantic Union Bankshares (NASDAQ:AUB) and Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, media sentiment, dividends, earnings and risk.

Does the media prefer AUB or ABCB?

In the previous week, Atlantic Union Bankshares had 1 more articles in the media than Ameris Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 12 mentions for Atlantic Union Bankshares and 11 mentions for Ameris Bancorp. Ameris Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 1.27 beat Atlantic Union Bankshares' score of 0.70 indicating that Ameris Bancorp is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Atlantic Union Bankshares	5 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Ameris Bancorp	8 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has stronger earnings & valuation, AUB or ABCB?

Ameris Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Atlantic Union Bankshares. Ameris Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Atlantic Union Bankshares, 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
Atlantic Union Bankshares	$1.05B	4.25	$209.13M	$2.06	15.24
Ameris Bancorp	$1.14B	3.99	$358.68M	$5.68	11.63

Do analysts rate AUB or ABCB?

Atlantic Union Bankshares presently has a consensus price target of $38.33, suggesting a potential upside of 22.07%. Ameris Bancorp has a consensus price target of $72.14, suggesting a potential upside of 9.22%. Given Atlantic Union Bankshares' higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Atlantic Union Bankshares is more favorable than Ameris Bancorp.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Atlantic Union Bankshares	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.83
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, AUB or ABCB?

Atlantic Union Bankshares has a beta of 0.88, suggesting that its share price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.96, suggesting that its share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500.

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

78.6% of Atlantic Union Bankshares shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 0.9% of Atlantic Union Bankshares shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 5.4% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is AUB or ABCB a better dividend stock?

Atlantic Union Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $1.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Atlantic Union Bankshares pays out 66.0% 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. Atlantic Union Bankshares has raised its dividend for 14 consecutive years. Atlantic Union Bankshares is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Is AUB or ABCB more profitable?

Ameris Bancorp has a net margin of 21.46% compared to Atlantic Union Bankshares' net margin of 15.53%. Ameris Bancorp's return on equity of 9.57% beat Atlantic Union Bankshares' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Atlantic Union Bankshares	15.53%	8.50%	1.06%
Ameris Bancorp	21.46%	9.57%	1.32%

Summary

Ameris Bancorp beats Atlantic Union Bankshares on 13 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.