Business First Bancshares (BFST) Competitors

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

Is ABCB or BFST a better dividend stock?

Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Business First Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Ameris Bancorp pays out 14.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Business First Bancshares pays out 22.3% 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. Business First Bancshares has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Business First Bancshares is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Do analysts recommend ABCB or BFST?

Ameris Bancorp presently has a consensus price target of $72.14, suggesting a potential upside of 4.25%. Business First Bancshares has a consensus price target of $30.75, suggesting a potential upside of 35.28%. Given Business First Bancshares' higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Business First Bancshares 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
Business First Bancshares	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.80

Which has higher earnings and valuation, ABCB or BFST?

Ameris Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Business First Bancshares. Business First Bancshares 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
Ameris Bancorp	$1.13B	4.22	$358.68M	$5.68	12.18
Business First Bancshares	$458.96M	1.47	$65.11M	$2.51	9.06

Is ABCB or BFST more profitable?

Ameris Bancorp has a net margin of 21.46% compared to Business First Bancshares' net margin of 15.47%. Business First Bancshares' return on equity of 11.21% beat Ameris Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ameris Bancorp	21.46%	9.57%	1.32%
Business First Bancshares	15.47%	11.21%	1.06%

Which has more risk and volatility, ABCB or BFST?

Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.94, indicating that its share price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Business First Bancshares has a beta of 0.86, indicating that its share price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500.

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

91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 47.4% of Business First Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. 5.5% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 5.7% of Business First Bancshares shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media favor ABCB or BFST?

In the previous week, Ameris Bancorp and Ameris Bancorp both had 1 articles in the media. Ameris Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 1.50 beat Business First Bancshares' score of 0.83 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	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Business First Bancshares	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Summary

Ameris Bancorp beats Business First Bancshares on 13 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.