Popular (BPOP) Competitors

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

Which has better earnings and valuation, ABCB or BPOP?

Popular has higher revenue and earnings than Ameris Bancorp. Popular 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	$1.12B	4.08	$358.68M	$5.40	12.31
Popular	$2.84B	2.70	$614.21M	$9.69	11.55

Is ABCB or BPOP more profitable?

Ameris Bancorp has a net margin of 21.46% compared to Popular's net margin of 15.82%. Popular's return on equity of 12.22% beat Ameris Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ameris Bancorp	21.46%	9.57%	1.32%
Popular	15.82%	12.22%	0.94%

Is ABCB or BPOP a better dividend stock?

Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Popular pays an annual dividend of $2.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Ameris Bancorp pays out 14.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Popular pays out 28.9% 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. Popular has increased its dividend for 6 consecutive years. Popular is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Do insiders & institutionals believe in ABCB or BPOP?

91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.3% of Popular shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.4% of Ameris Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.1% of Popular shares are owned 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.

Do analysts prefer ABCB or BPOP?

Ameris Bancorp presently has a consensus target price of $71.43, indicating a potential upside of 7.49%. Popular has a consensus target price of $123.29, indicating a potential upside of 10.14%. Given Popular's higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Popular 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
Popular	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.86

Does the media favor ABCB or BPOP?

In the previous week, Popular had 18 more articles in the media than Ameris Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 28 mentions for Popular and 10 mentions for Ameris Bancorp. Ameris Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 1.03 beat Popular's score of 0.81 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	7 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Popular	15 Very Positive mention(s)	7 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	2 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more volatility and risk, ABCB or BPOP?

Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.93, meaning that its share price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Popular has a beta of 0.63, meaning that its share price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Ameris Bancorp beats Popular on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.