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

Do analysts recommend ABCB or BPOP?

Ameris Bancorp currently has a consensus target price of $71.43, suggesting a potential upside of 5.37%. Popular has a consensus target price of $123.29, suggesting a potential upside of 7.45%. Given Popular's higher probable upside, analysts clearly 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

Which has stronger valuation and earnings, 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	4.16	$358.68M	$5.40	12.55
Popular	$4.33B	1.81	$614.21M	$9.69	11.84

Does the media favor ABCB or BPOP?

In the previous week, Popular had 19 more articles in the media than Ameris Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 26 mentions for Popular and 7 mentions for Ameris Bancorp. Ameris Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 1.46 beat Popular's score of 0.76 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	5 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Popular	15 Very Positive mention(s)	7 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

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

91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.3% of Popular shares are held by institutional investors. 5.4% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.2% of Popular shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

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 2.4%. 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 raised its dividend for 6 consecutive years. Popular is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

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%

Which has more risk and volatility, ABCB or BPOP?

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